SolarQuarter July Issue 2020

SOLAR PV MODULE TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL ISSUE

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ASIANEWS ADB APPROVES $200 MILLION LOAN TO MODERNIZE POWER SUPPLY, DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM IN NEPAL

ASUNIM CONTRACTED FOR EPCOF 31.5 MW IN ANTALYA

The Asi an Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $200 mi lli on concessi onal loan to i mprove power supply and di stri buti on systems i n Nepal. Nepal has made si gni fi cant progress i n electri ci ty supply after years of chroni c power shortages. However, i ts power transmi ssi on and di stri buti on systems need further strengtheni ng to i ncrease network capaci ty, i mprove quali ty and reli abi li ty, and remove delays between generati on hubs and load centers. The proj ect wi ll fi nance, among others, the rei nforcement and moderni zati on of the power supply system i n Kathmandu Valley, Bharatpur metropoli tan area of Chi twan di stri ct i n Bagmati Provi nce and Pokhara of Kaski di stri ct i n Gandaki Provi nce, where supply i nterrupti ons are frequent and prolonged. The proj ect also ai ms to support Provi nce 2, where the quali ty of electri ci ty supply i s poor and about 20% of households are sti ll wi thout access to the nati onal gri d.

Asuni m i s a hi ghly acti ve, reli able, and consi stent EPC company i n the Turki sh solar market and has si gned the EPC contract for 31. 5MW li censed PV system wi th Artı bi r Enerj i . The dedi cated i nternati onal engi neeri ng team of Asuni m has a long track record of successful systems desi gn and i mplementati on, usi ng cutti ngedge 3D modelli ng and si mulati on software to correctly elaborate extremely i mportant shadi ng and counter slope calculati ons. The system i s esti mated to generate up to 46. 7GWh electri ci ty per year and wi ll be one of the bi ggest PV proj ects i n the country.

Operati on and Mai ntenance acti vi ti es wi ll be covered by Maxi ma Enerj i , affi li ate O&M Company of Asuni m and leader i n O&M acti vi ti es, managi ng our whole portfoli o and systems bui lt by thi rd parti es totalli ng 270MWp.

SUNKOFA AND POWERGEN AWARDED 40 MINI-GRIDS ON THE BENIN MINI-GRID CALL FOR PROPOSALS PowerGen and Sunkofa Energy si gned on 22nd March 2020 wi th MCA Mi llenni um Challenge Account (MCA), funded by Mi llenni um Challenge Corporati on (MCC), the co-fi nanci ng agreement to put i n place the proj ect of electri fi cati on of 40 vi llages i n Beni n through solar mi ni -gri ds. Thi s i s the result of a competi ti ve tender run by Beni n Off-Gri d Clean Energy Faci li ty (OCEF) wi th 20 USD mi lli on fund to cofi nance mi ni -gri ds i n Beni n. Thi s proj ect ai ms to i ncrease access to electri ci ty for the currently unserved populati on i n rural and peri -urban areas. The proj ect wi ll be carri ed out by Mi onwa SA, the j oi nt venture created

by PowerGen and Sunkofa i n Beni n. It wi ll bui ld 40 off-gri d solar power plants to provi de 84, 000 Beni nese wi th access to electri ci ty. These mi ni gri ds wi ll power households, busi nesses, i ndustri es and entrepreneurs. They wi ll be bui lt i n the next 2 years and operated duri ng 25 years under a concessi on contract.

| JULY ISSUE 2020

PETRONA INVESTS IN MALAYSIA’S SOLAR ENERGY START-UP Petronas Ventures recently announced that i t i nked an agreement wi th SOLS Energy Sdn Bhd to i nvest i n the solar photovoltai c (PV) system start-up that provi des sustai nable energy for resi denti al and small-to-medi um enterpri se (SME) sectors i n Malaysi a.

Thi s i s Petronas’ second venture capi tal i nvestment i ni ti ati ve whi ch ai ms to strengthen i ts commi tment i n the renewable energy space as a soluti ons partner. The transacti on i s expected to be completed at the end of j uly thi s year. The i ni ti ati ve wi th SOLS Energy i s i n li ne wi th PETRONAS’ Sustai nabi li ty Agenda and the Uni ted Nati ons’ Sustai nable Development Goals (SDGs) that focus on the provi si on of quali ty techni cal educati on to youths, promoti on of sustai nable economi c growth as well as reducti on i n greenhouse gas emi ssi ons through generati on of clean energy.

TPG LAUNCHES MATRIX RENEWABLES WITH THE RISE FUND’S ACQUISITION OF 1GW OF SOLAR PV PROJECTS FROM TRINA SOLAR

The Ri se Fund, a global i mpact i nvesti ng fund managed by alternati ve asset fi rm TPG, today announced the acqui si ti on of approxi mately 1 gi gawatt (GW) of solar PV proj ects from Changzhou, Chi na-based Tri na Solar.

The solar PV proj ects i ncluded i n the transacti on are currently operati onal, under constructi on or i n late stage development neari ng ready-to-bui ld status across Spai n, Chi le, Colombi a, and Mexi co, and wi ll serve as the fi rst solar PV proj ects wi thi n the portfoli o of newly created, Madri d-based Matri x Renewables. Terms of the transacti on were not di sclosed. TPG and The Ri se Fund are assembli ng an i ndustryleadi ng management team for Matri x Renewables and wi ll leverage the fi rm’ s extensi ve i nvesti ng and busi ness bui ldi ng experi ence, global network, and deep cross-platform i nfrastructure and renewable energy experti se to develop and acqui re addi ti onal solar PV proj ects globally.

TRENDING NEDO AND SHARP CO., LTD UTILIZES WORLD'S HIGHEST LEVEL OF SOLAR BATTERY CELLS IN EV NEDO and Sharp Co. , Ltd. have manufactured solar cell panels for electri c vehi cles by usi ng cells equi valent to the world' s hi ghest effi ci ency solar cell module (conversi on effi ci ency 31. 17%) developed i n the NEDO busi ness. Thi s panel has achi eved a rated power output of over 1 kW, and company have calculated that the number of ti mes of chargi ng from an external power supply can be reduced to zero dependi ng on the usage pattern such as mi leage and runni ng ti me. In the future they wi ll evaluate the crui si ng range and the number of ti mes of chargi ng, etc. , and uti li ze them i n the spread acti vi ti es of i n-vehi cle solar cells, ai mi ng to create a new solar cell market and solve energy and envi ronmental problems.

MALAYSIA’S TESCO SIGNS LARGEST SOLAR POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENT WITH NESS Malaysi a’ s Tesco Stores Sdn Bhd and NE Suri a Satu Sdn Bhd (NESS) have entered i nto the largest long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) for solar energy i n Malaysi a. NESS i s a collaborati on between Petronas through i ts New Energy busi ness uni t and NEFIN Group, a regi onal bespoke solar developer and asset management group. Tesco Malaysi a and NESS sai d i n a j oi nt statement that the fi rst phase of the PPA would see the i nstallati on of solar photovoltai c (PV) panels on the rooftop spaces of 15 Tesco stores nati onwi de. The PPA wi ll be for 20 years whi ch i s unti l 2040. The i nstallati on of the solar PV panels i n 15 out of 62 of i ts stores was the fi rst phase i n Tesco’ s renewable energy push, Tesco Malaysi a chi ef executi ve offi cer Paul Ri tchi e sai d.

THAILAND’S BGC PLANS TO PROCURE 50-100 MW OF SOLAR POWER IN VIETNAM Thai glass packagi ng company BG Contai ner Glass PCL plans to acqui re 50 MW and 100 MW of solar capaci ty i n Vi etnam, accordi ng to a report on Bangkok Post. On the acqui si ti ons the company i s planni ng to di sburse between THB 1 bi lli on and THB 2 bi lli on. In the fi nal quarter of 2020 a deal i s expected. The newspaper ci ted that chi ef executi ve Si lparat Watthana Kai ser sai d BGC i s planni ng to di versi fy i ts operati ons and i s keen i n i nvesti ng i n renewable energy mai nly solar, wi nd and water resources. The company owns about 67 MW of solar capaci ty i n Vi etnam and by 2022 i t i s looki ng to boost i ts power generati on capaci ty to 300400 MW.

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INDIANEWS NTPC ENTERS PACT WITH NIIF TO EXPLORE BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES IN INDIA As per a statement i ssued by Nati onal Thermal Power Corporati on Li mi ted (NTPC) Ltd, a central PSU under Mi ni stry of Power and Country’ s largest power generati on company, today i t has entered i nto a Memorandum of Understandi ng (MoU) wi th Nati onal Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), acti ng through Nati onal Investment and Infrastructure Fund Li mi ted (NIIFL), to explore opportuni ti es for i nvestments i n areas li ke renewable energy, power di stri buti on among other areas of mutual i nterest i n Indi a. Wi th thi s MoU, NTPC and NIIF ai m to collaborate to further help Indi a’ s vi si on of bui ldi ng sustai nable and robust energy i nfrastructure i n the country. Thi s partnershi p ai ms to bri ng together NTPC’ s techni cal experti se and NIIF’ s abi li ty to rai se capi tal and bri ng i n global best practi ces by leveragi ng i ts exi sti ng relati onshi ps wi th leadi ng players.

SOLAR INDUSTRY ASKS IREDA TO PAY GST AND SAFEGUARD DUTY RECEIVABLES AT 10.41%

SOLAR AND WIND ENERGY TO POWER THE RAILWAY ELECTRICITY GRID IN A BIG WAY

PM MODI DEDICATES 750 MW REWA SOLAR PROJECT TO THE NATION The Pri me Mi ni ster Narendra Modi dedi cated the Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Power proj ect to the Nati on vi a vi deo conference today. Rewa proj ect i s Asi a’ s largest power proj ect. Thi s Proj ect compri ses three solar generati ng uni ts of 250 MW each located on a 500 hectare plot of land si tuated i nsi de a Solar Park (total area 1500 hectare). The Rewa Solar Proj ect was the fi rst solar proj ect i n the country to break the gri d pari ty barri er. Compared to prevai li ng solar proj ect tari ffs of approx. Rs. 4. 50/uni t i n early 2017, the Rewa proj ect achi eved hi stori c results: a fi rst year tari ff of Rs. 2. 97/uni t wi th a tari ff escalati on of Rs. 0. 05/uni t over 15 years and a leveli zed rate of Rs. 3. 30/uni t over the term of 25 years. Thi s proj ect wi ll reduce carbon emi ssi on equi valent to approx. 15 lakh ton of CO2 per year.

The Nati onal Solar Energy Federati on of Indi a (NSEFI) sought IREDA’ s i nterest rate to be at the same level as SECI’ s proposed annui ty rate of 10. 41% for GST and Safeguard Duty compensati on. In a letter addressed to the Mi ni stry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), the Nati onal Solar Federati on of Indi a (NSEFI) has asked SECI and IREDA’ s poli ci es on loan and i nterest rates for solar developers to be ali gned together to prevent solar developers from i ncurri ng losses. The federati on noted i n i ts letter that solar developers had approached vari ous banks and fi nanci al i nsti tuti ons, i ncludi ng the Indi an Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), for approval of loans based on the securi ti zati on of GST and Safeguard Duty recei vables.

US-INDIA STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP FORUM (USISPF) HOSTS VIRTUAL ROUNDTABLE

The Mi ni stry of Rai lways wi th a goal of transformi ng Indi an Rai lways i nto Green Rai lways by 2030 has taken a number of maj or i ni ti ati ves towards mi ti gati on of global warmi ng and combati ng cli mate change. Rai lway Electri fi cati on, i mprovi ng energy effi ci ency of locomoti ves & trai ns and fi xed i nstallati ons, green certi fi cati on for i nstallati ons/stati ons, fi tti ng bi o toi lets i n coaches and swi tchi ng to renewable sources of energy are parts of i ts strategy of achi evi ng net zero carbon emi ssi on. Indi an Rai lways has completed electri fi cati on of more than 40, 000 Route km (RKM) (63% of BG routes) i n whi ch 18, 605 km electri fi cati on work has been done duri ng 2014-20. Previ ously, only 3, 835 km electri fi cati on work was completed duri ng the peri od 2009-14.

Indi an Rai lways has fi xed a target of electri fi cati on of 7000 RKM for the year 2020-21. All routes on the BG network have been planned to be electri fi ed by December 2023. Indi an Rai lways i s focusi ng on electri fi cati on of last mi le connecti vi ty & mi ssi ng li nks. Wi th thi s i n mi nd 365 km maj or connecti vi ty work has been commi ssi oned duri ng COVID peri od.

MNRE ISSUES FRESH ADVISORY AGAINST FRAUDULENT WEBSITES INVITING REGISTRATION UNDER KUSUM SCHEME Mi ni stry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) i ssued a fresh advi sory agai nst fraudulent websi tes clai mi ng regi strati on under Pradhan Mantri Ki sanUrj a Suraksha evamUtthaanMahabhi yan (PM-KUSUM) Scheme. It i s recently noti ced that two new websi tes have recently cropped up i llegally clai mi ng regi strati on portal for PMKUSUM Scheme. Web addresses of the sai d websi tes are https: //kusum-yoj ana. co. i n/ and https: //www. onli nekusumyoj ana. co. i n/. The mi screants behi nd these websi tes are potenti ally dupi ng the general publi c and mi susi ng data captured through these fake portals. MNRE stated that i t i s taki ng acti on agai nst the mi screants behi nd these websi tes and advi sed all potenti al benefi ci ari es and the general publi c to be i nformed and avoi d deposi ti ng money or data on these websi tes.

USISPF hosted a vi rtual roundtable wi th Dharmendra Pradhan, the Mi ni ster for Petroleum & Natural Gas and Steel, Government of Indi a, and i ndustry leaders from the U. S. and Indi an energy sectors. The sessi on was also j oi ned by Amb. Taranj i t Si ngh Sandhu, the Ambassador of Indi a to Uni ted States, Tarun Kapoor, Secretary of the Mi ni stry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, and the Chai rmen and Managi ng Di rectors (CMDs) of vari ous publi c sector undertaki ngs, i ncludi ng ONGC, IOCL, BPCL, HPCL, OIL, GAIL, EIL, PLL, MRPL, BPRL, Coal Indi a Li mi ted, Nati onal Thermal Power Corporati on, Power Gri d Corporati on of Indi a Li mi ted, and NHPC. Thi s sessi on was held i n advance of the upcomi ng U. S-Indi a Strategi c Energy Partnershi p Di alogue on July 17th. The purpose of the di scussi on was for the Honorable Mi ni ster to share hi s pri ori ti es and areas for collaborati on wi th the Uni ted States, and for USE SPF members to bri ef Mi ni ster Pradhan on how i ndustry and government can further strengthen the U. S. -Indi a energy partnershi p. Duri ng the sessi on, Mi ni ster Pradhan emphasi zed the i mportance of the strategi c energy partnershi p, stati ng that i t wi ll go a long way i n advanci ng shared goals between the U. S. and Indi a, i ncludi ng uni versal energy access, strengthened energy securi ty, and i ncreased energy trade between the two countri es.

| JULY ISSUE 2020

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| JULY ISSUE 2020

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SOLAR MINI-GRIDS SET TO PLAY CRITICAL ROLE IN ACHIEVING UNIVERSAL ELECTRICITY ACCESS WITH RIGHT POLICY SUPPORT

AFRICAN MINISTERIAL ROUNDTABLE HIGHLIGHTS ENERGY’S VITAL ROLE IN RESPONSE TO THE COVID-19 CRISIS

The State of the Global Mi ni -Gri ds Market Report 2020 – from the Mi ni -Gri d Partnershi p (MGP), publi shed by BloombergNEF (BNEF) and Sustai nable Energy for All (SEforALL) – i s a study, looki ng at technologi es, busi nesses, regulati ons, fi nanci ng, economi cs and i mpact assessment i n the i ndustry.

The report esti mates that 238 mi lli on households wi ll need to gai n electri ci ty access i n Sub-Saharan Afri ca, Asi a and i sland nati ons by 2030 for the achi evement of uni versal access – as outli ned by Sustai nable Development Goal 7. Mi ni -gri ds can serve almost half of thi s total – an esti mated 111 mi lli on households. Thi s wi ll requi re capi tal i nvestment of an esti mated $128 bi lli on between 2020 and 2030. Mi ni -gri ds are the most sui table opti on for many low- and medi um-densi ty areas and can address a larger number of low-i ncome fami li es more economi cally than the alternati ve opti ons.

Mi ni sters from Afri can countri es representi ng about two-thi rds of the conti nent’ s energy consumpti on met wi th global energy leaders today to consi der the poli ci es and i nvestments that can enable Afri ca’ s energy sector to best support responses to the dual challenges of the Covi d-19 pandemi c and global economi c recessi on. The Mi ni steri al roundtable also i ncluded leaders from the Afri can Uni on, the Uni ted Nati ons, the European Commi ssi on, the Internati onal Monetary Fund, the World Bank, OPEC, the European Uni on, Power Afri ca, and the Internati onal Renewable Energy Agency. Di scussi ons focused on three key areas for Afri ca’ s energy future: electri ci ty, oi l and gas, and sustai nable, i nclusi ve transi ti ons. Parti ci pants stressed the need for sound government poli ci es and enhanced i nvestments to support economi es and develop resi li ent and sustai nable energy systems. As Afri ca’ s energy sector faces the dual i mpacts of the Covi d-19 pandemi c and global economi c recessi on, parti ci pants agreed that sound government poli ci es and enhanced i nvestment are more i mportant and necessary than ever to enhance the conti nent’ s economi c transformati on; ensure suffi ci ent, affordable, reli able energy for all ci ti zens; and dri ve i nclusi ve, j ust and sustai nable, energy transi ti ons.

SOLAR WILL PUSH MUCH OF REMAINING TEXAS COAL FLEET OFFLINE New uti li ty-scale solar i s poi sed to push much of the remai ni ng coal-fi red power fleet across Texas i nto reti rement i n the next few years, fi nds a new report by the Insti tute for Energy Economi cs and Fi nanci al Analysi s (IEEFA). The report — Solar Surge Set to Dri ve Much of Remai ni ng Texas Coal-Fi red Fleet Offli ne — descri bes the i ncreasi ng vulnerabi li ty of coal plants across the powergenerati on market managed by the Electri ci ty Reli abi li ty Counci l of Texas (ERCOT), an area that covers most of the state. It sees upward of 70% of dayti me coal-fi red generati on i n ERCOT bei ng at ri sk by 2022. The report detai ls also how wi nd-fi red generati on has set the stage for the ri se of uti li ty-scale solar, i n effect deli veri ng a one-two punch to a coal fleet that i s down to 11 plants and wi ll number 10 by October. The report concludes that the gatheri ng uti li ty-scale solar surge wi ll i rreversi bly alter the market’ s dai ly dynami cs and dri ve more coal plants offli ne by 2025.

INDONESIA AND IEA DEEPEN COOPERATION ON ELECTRICITY AND RENEWABLES TO ADVANCE ENERGY TRANSITIONS Indonesi an Mi ni ster of Energy and Mi neral Resources Mr Ari fi n Tasri f and IEA Executi ve Di rector Dr Fati h Bi rol are pleased to announce the launch of a new j oi nt proj ect on electri ci ty and renewable energy i n Indonesi a. The proj ect wi ll focus on opti mi si ng the desi gn and i mplementati on of a new flagshi p scheme to encourage pri vate i nvestment i n renewable power sources as well as strategi es to enhance renewables i ntegrati on and power system operati on. The work wi ll be carri ed out i n partnershi p wi th the Indonesi an nati onal power uti li ty PT Perusahaan Li stri k Negara (PLN Persero). Thi s cooperati on falls under the Joi nt Work Programme si gned by Dr Bi rol and Mi ni ster Tasri f on the occasi on of the IEA’ s Mi ni steri al Meeti ng i n December 2019. The programme bui lds on many years of strong collaborati on between the IEA and Indonesi a across all fuels and all technologi es.

| JULY ISSUE 2020

INDIA’S CLEAN ENERGY PROGRESS AS A MODEL FOR CLEANER ECONOMIC GROWTH AND RECOVERY FOLLOWING COVID-19 Bloomberg Phi lanthropi es and BloombergNEF (BNEF) released “Indi a’ s Clean Power Revoluti on, ” a new whi te paper detai li ng how Indi a has become the world’ s largest and most competi ti ve clean energy aucti on market – and a model country for others looki ng to leverage lowcarbon i nvestments i n thei r Covi d-19 economi c recovery strategy. The report outli nes how Indi a’ s rapi d progress i n sustai nable economi c growth and clean energy can be a model for nati ons looki ng to recover from the Covi d-19 pandemi c through the adopti on of green sti muli that maxi mi ze economi c, health, and envi ronmental benefi ts. Indi a i s currently ranked as the top emergi ng market for clean energy i nvestment by BNEF’ s Cli matescope. Thi s reflects the comprehensi ve set of enabli ng poli ci es i ntroduced by i ts government to meet a goal of 450GW clean energy by 2030, i ts openness to i nvestors, and the volume of renewables aucti oned i n recent years. Launched at the BNEF Summi t New Delhi : Strategi c Bri efi ng and Di alogue “Indi a’ s Clean Power Revoluti on” outli nes how Indi a’ s competi ti ve renewables market and ambi ti ous clean power goals are proj ected to double the share of zero-carbon electri ci ty generated i n the country over the next decade.

OLADE AND IRENA PUT RENEWABLES AT HEART OF ECONOMIC RECOVERY IN LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN The Internati onal Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the Lati n Ameri can Energy Organi zati on (OLADE) wi ll boost ti es to put the renewables dri ven energy transformati on at the heart of Lati n Ameri ca and the Cari bbean’ s economi c recovery followi ng the COVID-19 outbreak. The efforts bui ld on an exi sti ng Memorandum of Understandi ng (MoU) ori gi nally si gned by the two organi sati ons i n 2012. Accelerati ng the development of sustai nable energy could provi de the Lati n-Ameri can regi on wi th a long-term strategy to address soci al i nequali ty, energy access and energy securi ty. Renewables can also sti mulate the growth of clean technology uti li sati on wi thi n the i ndustri al, agri cultural, manufacturi ng and transport sectors, whi le reduci ng the carbon emi ssi ons i n the regi on by 21 percent by 2030 compared to today’ s levels, contri buti ng towards global decarboni sati on efforts i n li ne wi th the Pari s Agreement.

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P R O J E C T

M O N T H L Y

RENEW POWER TO MANUFACTURE SOLAR CELLS AND MODULES IN INDIA

NEXTENERGY ACQUIRES 27.4 MWP SOLAR PROJECT IN ODISHA

ReNew Power, Indi a’ s largest renewable energy company, announced that i t i ntends to start manufacturi ng solar cells and modules i n Indi a. The announcement was made by ReNew’ s Chai rman and MD, Mr. Sumant Si nha at the Aatmani rbhar Bharat event. ReNew Power wi ll i nvest ₹ 1500-2000 Cr i n setti ng up thi s faci li ty whi ch wi ll i ni ti ally have a 2GW manufacturi ng capaci ty and i s i n di scussi on wi th vari ous states to set up thi s uni t. ReNew Power’ s announcement to set up a manufacturi ng faci li ty comes j ust weeks after Pri me Mi ni ster Shri Narendra Modi ’ s call to Indi an compani es to become “Aatmani rbhar” and i s expected to support the government’ s mi ssi on to generate 450 GW of renewable energy by 2030.

NextPower III, NextEnergy Capi tal’ s thi rd i nsti tuti onal solar fund, i s pleased to announce i ts fi rst acqui si ti on i n Indi a. Thi s 27. 4MWp plant was acqui red from IBC SOLAR Energy GmbH, the i nternati onal proj ect di vi si on of IBC SOLAR AG, a leadi ng global system house for photovoltai cs (PV) and energy storage based i n Germany. IBC SOLAR constructed the plant and operated i t si nce May 2018. The plant benefi ts from a long-term power purchase agreement i n place wi th an i nvestment grade off-taker (AA+ rated), wi th a term of 25 years wi th 100% of the revenues contracted. NextPower III’ s i nvestment strategy i s to acqui re solar power plants at the ready-to-bui ld status or i n operati on across hi gh-growth i nternati onal markets. The i nvestment team i s currently focusi ng i ts efforts to i ncrease the portfoli os i n i ts carefully selected geographi es i ncludi ng the USA, Lati n Ameri ca, Southern Europe and Indi a, where NPIII have ongoi ng transacti ons, and expect to announce further acqui si ti ons duri ng the thi rd quarter of 2020

TATA POWER TO DEVELOP 225 MW HYBRID RENEWABLE POWER PROJECT Tata Power, Indi a’ s largest i ntegrated power company, announced that Tata Power Green Energy Li mi ted (TPGEL), the Company’ s wholly owned subsi di ary, has recei ved a Letter of Award from Tata Power Mumbai Di stri buti on on 13th July 2020 to develop a 225 MW hybri d renewable proj ect. The Plant i s expected to generate about 700 MUs of energy per year and wi ll annually offset approxi mately 700 Mi lli on Kg of CO2. The energy wi ll be suppli ed to Tata Power Mumbai Di stri buti on under a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), vali d for a peri od of 25 years from scheduled commerci al operati on date.

The Company hasby won thiPower s capaci ty i n Distribution. a bid finalised recently Tata Mumbai The project is required to be commissioned within 18 months from the date of execution of the PPA. Tata Power’ s renewable capacity will increase to 3, 782 MW, out of which 2, 637 MW is operational and 1, 145 MW is under implementation including 225 MW won under this LOA.

AVAADA ENERGY TO SET UP 350 MW SOLAR PLANT IN MAHARASHTRA Avaada Energy has recei ved a letter of award from Maharashtra State Electri ci ty Di stri buti on Co Ltd. (MSEDCL) to develop a 350 MW (DC) solar proj ect i n Maharashtra. Avaada Energy, Indi a’ s leadi ng Renewable Energy Producer, has been accorded a Letter of Award (LoA) to develop a 350 MW (DC)solar proj ect i n Maharashtra from MSEDCL. The energy wi ll be suppli ed to MSEDCL under a power purchase agreement, valid for a period of 25 years from scheduled commercial operation date. The project is expected to be commissioned by January 2022. The plant is expected to generate about 525 million units annually which will help in reducing 4, 98, 750 tonnes of CO2 emission annually. Avaada Energy’ s solar project has potential to power 4. 8 lakhs households with green energy. Avaada Energy is committed towards crafting a sustainable future by creating a world powered through clean energy.

ENEL GREEN POWER AND NORFUND JOIN FORCES TO DEVELOP RENEWABLE PROJECTS IN INDIA Enel Green Power (“EGP”), through i ts Indi an subsi di ary for renewables Enel Green Power Indi a (“EGP Indi a”), and the Norwegi an Investment Fund for renewable proj ects i n developi ng countri es Norfund, have si gned a long-term agreement to j oi ntly fi nance, bui ld and operate new renewable proj ects i n Indi a. Antoni o Cammi secra, CEO, Enel Green Power sai d that “The agreement gi ves us the opportuni ty to expand and strengthen our presence i n Indi a, after recently scori ng our fi rst wi n i n a solar tender i n the country. By j oi ni ng forces wi th an i mportant partner such as Norfund, whi ch shares our commi tment towards sustai nabi li ty and decarboni zati on, we wi ll leverage on our techni cal experti se to harness the si gni fi cant renewable growth potenti al of Indi a, whi le contri buti ng to the achi evement of the country’ s sustai nable energy targets. ”

| JULY ISSUE 2020

TATA POWER TO RAISE RS 2,600 CR, SET UP INVIT FOR RENEWABLES BUSINESS The Board of Di rectors of Tata Power has approved i ssuance of 49, 05, 66, 037 Equi ty shares on a preferenti al basi s to Tata Sons Pri vate Li mi ted for an aggregate consi derati on of Rs. 2, 600 crore. The i ssue pri ce for the Equi ty shares has been fi xed at Rs. 53 per Equi ty share representi ng a 15% premi um pri ce. Tata Sons’ shareholdi ng wi ll i ncrease from 35. 27% to 45. 21% on allotment of Equi ty shares pursuant to the preferenti al i ssue.

Consequently, Tata Group’ s shareholdi ng wi ll i ncrease from 37. 22% to 46. 86%.

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INCONVERSATION

VIVEK BHARDWAJ HEAD OF SALES – INDIA GOODWE

Let us start with GoodWe presence worldwide?

GoodWe is a Solar Inverter technology expert and a strategically thinking enterprise which focuses on research and manufacturing of PV inverters and energy storage solutions.

GoodWe is currently the world leader in storage inverters with 15% market share worldwide and has been ranked no. 1 Hybrid Inverter globally by Wood Mackenzie in their report titled Global PV Inverter Market Shares Full-Year 2019. GoodWe solar inverters have been largely used in residential rooftops, commercial systems and energy storage systems across the globe. GoodWe ranked among World Top 10 solar inverter manufacturers by Bloomberg, IHS & Wood Mackenzie and has recently won the TÜV All Qualities Matters award for the 5th consecutive year. GoodWe have major market shares in Netherlands, Brazil, Australia, India, South Korea, South Africa, etc cumulating to more than 100 countries with global installation base of 12GW and have office presence in United States, Germany, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Mexico, India, China, Korea, Australia, Turkey, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Italy, South Africa, etc

What is the new technology in the solar inverter market globally and in India?

Inverter technology has always been a crucial point of development. GoodWe invests a huge sum in development of highly efficient transition technologies, advanced cooling systems, large capacity string inverters and technology to handle frequency fluctuations efficiently.

Technological innovation is GoodWe’s main core competence. With an in-house R&D team of approx. 200 employees in two R&D centers, GoodWe can offer a comprehensive portfolio of products and solutions for residential, commercial and utility scale PV systems, ensuring that performance and quality go hand-in-hand across the entire range. Talking about the new technology trend, the global solar inverter market now cannot suffice solar projects with just the capacity of inverter compatible with the block sizes. The new demand of the market is feature loaded String Inverters, which offers higher safety, better ventilation, all

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"GOODWE RANKED AMONG WORLD TOP 10 SOLAR INVERTER MANUFACTURERS"

time high efficiency and allows full load running inverter to even higher temperature ratings of 50 deg Celsius. GoodWe offers an opportunity to customers to experience such deeper technological advancements by offering critical features like AFCI (Arc Fault circuit interrupter), 50% DC Oversizing & 15%AC overloading, Full load running at 50 deg C, 99% Efficiency, AC connector temperature detection, internal humidity monitoring, and what not!

GOODWE IS CURRENTLY THE WORLD LEADER IN STORAGE INVERTERS WITH 15% MARKET SHARE WORLDWIDE AND HAS BEEN RANKED NO. 1 HYBRID INVERTER GLOBALLY

BY WOOD MACKENZIE IN THEIR REPORT TITLED GLOBAL PV INVERTER MARKET SHARES FULL-YEAR 2019.

Please let us know about your experience in the Indian market. How do you plan to accelerate your growth in India against competition?

GoodWe have been exploring the India market for more than 5 years now, which signifies that the first stage of product warranty is completed with successfully running inverters.

GoodWe gained an opportunity to serve major clients like Tata Power, Sterling & Wilson, Bosch and worked along with finest distribution partners Krannich Solar Pvt. Ltd. and Evervolt Green Energy Pvt. Ltd. to reach deep down to every corner of India. Talking about the customer reviews about GoodWe as a company and its products have been extremely promising from Big giants to small rooftop players. Though the year 2020 was not as it was thought to be due to unavoidable pandemic situations, the time has been harsh to the entire solar business. But GoodWe still hopes to gain back the pace soon after the projects catch their respective pace. Further, the competition is tough due to lowering bid prices of Rs 2.36/kWhr noticed recently.

GoodWe believes that the price war can be tackled with technological advancements and knowledge exchange.

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How different is the Indian market dynamics compared to the other international markets?

Depending on the location between the Tropic of Cancer and the Equator, India has an average annual temperature that ranges from 25 degree Celsius to 27 degree Celsius.

Owing to this, the country has a huge potential for solar power generation. Indian government is also encouraging the use of renewable sources of energy like solar, wind, etc. to decrease the dependency on nonrenewable sources and reduce their carbon footprint. Also, the growth rate noticed in past years for solar energy has been promising and signifies the huge demand of renewable energy, high potential of energy generation and Indian solar market lying in the biggest 4 solar markets globally. All mentioned factors cumulate to a promising future of solar energy business in India, keep its dynamics high.

What are the various products & services that your company provides with regards to EPC projects?

GoodWe has set up an integrated service system for pre-sales, in-sales and after-sales and has established service centers worldwide, aiming to offer global support to all customers including project consulting, technical training, on-site support and aftersales service.Product basket includes a wide range of inverter solutions for all possible solar project with 1000V/1100V String Inverter solution for both small & big rooftops and utility scale projects along with Storage inverter solutions for household purpose. GoodWe have always focused on product quality and customer services being fruitfully awarded and gained about 7% of Solar Inverters rooftop market share in India.

R&D team being dedicated to innovate a better and finest ever inverter solution with maximum features to match the current market demand. GoodWe has been honored with the TĂœV Rheinland's 2020 "All Quality Matters" award in recognition for the outstanding quality of its storage inverter and its C&I inverter. This is the fifth consecutive year that GoodWe has won this prestigious award, which shows just how consistent the company has been in delivering high-quality products.

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GOODWE HAVE BEEN EXPLORING THE INDIA MARKET FOR MORE THAN 5 YEARS NOW, WHICH SIGNIFIES THAT THE FIRST STAGE OF PRODUCT WARRANTY IS COMPLETED WITH SUCCESSFULLY RUNNING INVERTERS. GOODWE GAINED AN OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE MAJOR CLIENTS LIKE TATA POWER, STERLING & WILSON, BOSCH AND WORKED ALONG WITH FINEST DISTRIBUTION PARTNERS KRANNICH SOLAR PVT. LTD. AND EVERVOLT GREEN ENERGY PVT. LTD. TO REACH DEEP DOWN TO EVERY CORNER OF INDIA.

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Energy storage, can perform a crucial role, by enhancing the operating abilities of the grid, addressing of peak time demand while balancing energy costs and ensuring high consistency by preserving peaks at the transmission and distribution end thereby reducing infrastructure expansion investments. The integration of renewable generation and energy storage offers a solution to cost-effectively diversify and strengthen the energy portfolio.

What is your view on India’s One Sun One World One Grid vision?

In May 2020, MNRE had invited proposals for developing a long-term vision, implementation plan, road map, and institutional framework for implementing ‘One Sun One World One Grid’ (OSOWOG).

OSOWOG is India’s initiative to develop a global ecosystem of unified renewable energy resources. The plan for this initiative will be created under the World Bank’s technological assistance programme, which is executed to speed up the deployment of the grid associated with solar rooftop installations. OSOWOG is planned to be completed in three phases. The first phase will entail interconnectivity within the Asian continent, the second phase will add Africa, and the third phase will globalize the project.

The underlying logic behind OSOWOG is that a grid spread across multiple time zones could balance intermittent renewables with other renewables: the setting sun in one part of the grid is made up for by solar, wind, or hydropower produced in another location.

Just from India’s energy mix perspective, the country is currently importing around $250 billion of fossil fuel annually (oil, diesel, LNG, coking and thermal coal). OSOWOG can tremendously augment India’s existing renewable energy capacity, further helping to meet the country’s energy needs through sustainable renewable energy, thereby improving its current account deficit and ensure better energy security.

Also, the OSOWOG vision enables India to replicate its global solar leadership (International Solar Alliance) by encouraging the phased development of a single globally connected solar electricity grid to leverage multiple benefits of low cost and nonpolluting energy.

OSOWOG seems to be an excellent concept enabling sustainable development. However, further detailing, will entail deep diving into various facets such as the difference in voltage, frequency, and specifications of the grid across regions, maintaining grid stability with just renewable generation and mitigation plan for any disruption caused due to any bilateral/multilateral issues, etc.

Besides, a robust mechanism for engagement and resolution of issues with stakeholder groups like T&D entities, grid operators, ministries across participating countries will be very crucial as the plan moves to the implementation phase. Lastly, it is crucial that efforts, resources, and focus of the government and ministries on various domestic priority initiatives allied to renewable energy such as grid expansion and smart grids, RTC, energy storage, electric mobility, etc., do get balanced suitably with the OSOWOG initiative.

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While intermittency and unpredictability are limitations of renewable energy. Do you think hybridization would mitigate these issues effectively?

In May 2020, MNRE had invited proposals for developing a long-term vision, implementation plan, road map, and insA hybrid energy mechanism that includes a combination of solar and wind energy projects is the future of renewables with appropriate integration of thermal power or biomass or hydropower, in specific cases.

Besides, push to add energy storage systems not just to generation and transmission assets, but also attached ‘behind the meter’ is expected to provide better response control in case of fluctuations.

However, combining renewable energy thermal and hydro generation - is bound to have frequency and voltage disturbances due to the mismatch of load demand and generation curves. Therefore, there are frequency and voltage variations beyond allowable limits, as required for a stabilized grid operation. Infrastructure development initiatives such as transmission systems expansion, sub-station improvements, controlling line losses, and smart grid systems, in addition to the provision of storage, will address technical challenges of power evacuation that will be vital for this model to deliver effective results. titutional framework for implementing ‘One Sun One World One Grid’ (OSOWOG).

OSOWOG is India’s initiative to develop a global ecosystem of unified renewable energy resources. The plan for this initiative will be created under the World Bank’s technological assistance programme, which is executed to speed up the deployment of the grid associated with solar rooftop installations. OSOWOG is planned to be completed in three phases. The first phase will entail interconnectivity within the Asian continent, the second phase will add Africa, and the third phase will globalize the project.

The underlying logic behind OSOWOG is that a grid spread across multiple time zones could balance intermittent renewables with other renewables: the setting sun in one part of the grid is made up for by solar, wind, or hydropower produced in another location.

Just from India’s energy mix perspective, the country is currently importing around $250 billion of fossil fuel annually (oil, diesel, LNG, coking and thermal coal). OSOWOG can tremendously augment India’s existing renewable energy capacity, further helping to meet the country’s energy needs through sustainable renewable energy, thereby improving its current account deficit and ensure better energy security.

Also, the OSOWOG vision enables India to replicate its global solar leadership (International Solar Alliance) by encouraging the phased development of a single globally connected solar electricity grid to leverage multiple benefits of low cost and nonpolluting energy.

OSOWOG seems to be an excellent concept enabling sustainable development. However, further detailing, will entail deep diving into various facets such as the difference in voltage, frequency, and specifications of the

grid across regions, maintaining grid stability with just renewable generation and mitigation plan for any disruption caused due to any bilateral/multilateral issues, etc.

Besides, a robust mechanism for engagement and resolution of issues with stakeholder groups like T&D entities, grid

The global hybrid energy, including the storage market, is projected to be about $40 billion by 2025. What will be your contribution to this number?

Certain estimates indeed quantify annual storage additions reaching 80 GWhr by 2025.

This is based on a projected growth rate of about 58% per annum, which seems excessive but is like solar PV growth over the last decade. It is expected that the storage build-up will be seen primarily in China, US, UK, Australia, EU (primarily Germany, France), South Korea, India, and SE Asia. Most of the stationary storage capacity addition will be spread across applications such as ancillary services, peaking capacity, T&D deferral, and RE integration.

Beyond 2025, accelerated adoption of storage ‘behind the meter’ is projected globally, comprising commercial and residential verticals as also EV chargers, bringing the share of these segments to 4045% of the total annual addition. Micro-grids on mainland and island are expected to have a potential of about 5 GW storage inclusion as part of the off-grid hybrid energy solution.

While our parent company, SP Group, has a global footprint in 60+ countries, various businesses within the SWPL portfolio are spread across multiple geographies with a strong presence across India, Middle East, Africa, South East Asia, and the Caribbean.

Over the last couple of years, our solar business has expanded into North, South America, and Australia.

Our medium-term focus for the hybrid & energy storage (HES) business would be to leverage SWPL’s existing worldwide presence in specific markets like South Asia, Africa, South East Asia, and Australia. The HES team works cohesively with other group companies, operating out of these markets to acquire new business and for project delivery. Leveraging this strength and specific domain expertise built with regards to hybridization and storage, we will be targeting the RE integration, stand-alone, and microgrid integrated storage opportunities in the focus markets.

While it is difficult to put a definitive number to where we will be five years, we are confident of substantial growth, considering the sound foundation, we have been able to put in place. We have built an advanced modeling approach which utilises our inhouse proprietary simulations tools to provide bespoke energy storage solutions, which include load profile analysis, battery degradation optimisation studies, risk mitigation studies, financial optimisation, component sizing, etc. Finally, our ability to offer end to end solution from design to O&M to our customers and being agnostic to any make or technology when proposing a solution for a said application, are clear advantages that will help build business traction going forward.

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INCONVERSATION

GAURAV MATHUR DIRECTOR SALES TRINA SOLAR

Please tell us about your products and services.

As a global leading provider for PV module and smart energy solution, Trina Solar delivers PV products, applications and services to promote global sustainable development. Through constant innovation, we continue to push the PV industry forward by creating greater grid parity of PV power and popularizing renewable energy. Our mission is to boost global renewable energy development around the world for the benefit of all of humanity. As of Jun. 2020, Trina Solar has delivered more than 50 GW of solar modules worldwide, ranked “Top 500 private enterprises in China”. In addition, our downstream business includes solar PV project development, financing, design, construction, operations & management and one-stop system integration solutions for customers. . In 2018, Trina Solar first launched the Energy IoT brand, and is now aiming to be the global leader of smart energy.

Can you tell us about the latest 500wp series module and Tracker. How will it help the Indian markets?

With the PV module sector gradually entering the 5.0 era, Trina Solar announced its first shipment of Vertex solar modules in March.

The PV industry has embraced the 500Wplus power since the beginning of the year.

Vertex facilitates the commercialization of new technologies and paves the way for the next module power upgrade to 600W. Trina Solar has announced the global launch of TrinaPro Mega in June, an optimized solution for the application of ultra-high power modules in downstream systems. TrinaPro Mega, is based on the TrinaPro solution launched in 2018. It’s an integrated solution combining high-output modules (500Wp to 600Wp) with smart PV controllers and trackers, smart inverters, and digital cloudbased operations and maintenance software.

The upgraded version provides an 8% to 15% lower balance-of-systems cost and 3% to 8% increase in power generation compared to the first version

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"OUR MISSION IS TO BOOST GLOBAL RENEWABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT AROUND THE WORLD FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL OF HUMANITY" Has Covid-19 affected the production process? How is Trina Solar coping up with the same?

China was the first to be impacted by the coronavirus but the outbreak was largely contained within China's Hubei province, We had limited impact, but quickly returned back to full capacity while implementing the new set of rules to protect the labour from the Covid-19 virus out break at work locations. In India some of our C&I orders are delayed but we are not seeing any delays in the utility sector

How do you see your company evolving over the year?

Last six months are very important for us at Trina Solar as the technology advances and minimized costs promoted and led by Trina Solar have played a significant role in the rapid development of commercial and residential power plant projects that reach grid parity. In June 2020, Trina Solar Listed on the STAR MArket of Shanahai Stock Exchange and with the new Vertex series 600Wp+ modules we are confident to maintain our top position.

TRINAPRO MEGA, IS BASED ON THE TRINAPRO SOLUTION LAUNCHED IN 2018. IT’S AN INTEGRATED SOLUTION COMBINING HIGH-OUTPUT MODULES (500WP TO 600WP) WITH SMART PV CONTROLLERS AND TRACKERS, SMART INVERTERS, AND DIGITAL CLOUDBASED OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE SOFTWARE.

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INTRODUCING

First Dedicated Publication For The Middle East Solar Energy Sector"

‫ﺗﻘﻮﻳﺔ ﺛﻮرة اﻟﻄﺎﻗﺔ اﻟﺸﻤﺴﻴﺔ‬

ASIA-PACIFIC'S LARGEST SOLAR MEDIA News | Insights| Talks |Perspective | Opinion | Tech Trends and A Lot More

INCONVERSATION

NAMRATA MUKHERJEE

Share your thoughts on the OSOWOG concept.

An 8% percent RE curtailment would lead to a loss of close to 21 BU in 2021-22. This, in turn, corresponds to a loss of Rs 5,184 Cr in terms of monetary value of RE at an average cost of Rs 2.5/ kWh. In states like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, the curtailment could be between 10-25%.

With wider grid interconnection, India can avoid RE curtailment and improve technical minimum operation of coal plants by supplying power to GCC and South East region. While connecting different regions in the world is exciting enough in itself, it behoves us to ensure that the energy being supplied this way is green energy, i.e. energy generated from Renewable sources.

Further, strong InterContinental connections, coupled with grid connected storage, can help ensure reliable access to clean and affordable power in this region, by harnessing the solar potential.

For ensuring high utilisation of the interconnector, trade & offtake of a portfolio of clean energy resources viz solar, wind, hydro, gas, etc may have to be thought of.

More importantly, the success of such an initiative will be dependent heavily on the bilateral trade relation that India has with such countries, where it wants to establish an electricity interconnector. Electricity must

"IT’S TIME FOR ONE COUNTRY’S SUNSHINE TO LIGHT UP HOUSES IN ANOTHER COUNTRY. IT’S TIME FOR ONE SUN, ONE WORLD, ONE GRID." be part of this basket of trade that India undertakes with such countries, and not a standalone commodity.

Further, the implementation of such a program must be done in a carefully planned, phase-wise manner, with the approach being based on commercial principles.

How do you think this concept will help India achieve its clean energy goals?

As India pushes towards a low carbon transition by expanding its RE capacity, its demand profile will see a tectonic shift. Advanced RE economies find that their power demand peaks for four hours from 5 pm to 9 pm. This is also the time when RE, especially solar, is less available. This leads to the infamous duck curve (now also referred to as the swan curve in some cases) – a timing imbalance between peak demand and energy production. This peak demand period would coincide with peak sunshine period in the Middle East/ African region and can play a role in supporting the Indian demand, as well as enable access to cheaper solar power.

It therefore, becomes imperative to have connectivity by way of an intercontinental grid that leverages the time difference between such countries, where surplus RE is injected from one country’s grid to another, who needs it at that time.

It would be imperative to ensure that the development of such grids is done in the most cost-efficient manner – which has been implemented successfully across the world, by adopting the PPP model. The PPP mode of infrastructure development has been in place for several years in the country and has yielded unparalleled savings in tariffs for the end consumers. Development of Intercontinental grids via PPP route would not only enable access to previously unreachable energy resources, but also safeguard consumer interest by making sure that the delivery of power is

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done in the most cost-efficient way possible.

As more than 95% of storage requirement will be in the EV segment, policy support by central and state governments for electric mobility will have the largest impact on this localisation thrust for storage.

What is your take on MNRE’s issue of draft policy for supply of RTC power from RE projects? Do you think Energy Storage will be crucial for RTC power?

Renewable energy has witnessed rapid growth in capacity addition over the last decade and non-conventional power generation as a percentage of total energy mix across the world, as also India, has seen accelerated northward movement. But renewable energy sources come with a crucial rider: intermittency. Dependence on external factors, primarily weather conditions – wind speeds and direction, the intensity of sunlight, among others – limit renewable energy sources from supplying continuous and uninterrupted power. While the growth of renewable energy heralds an optimistic future, the challenge of efficient storage of electrical energy is the single biggest obstacle in producing green power at both distributed and utility-scale.

The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) and SECI have been adopting a variety of measures to boost project investments in renewables over the past few years. The most recent scheme for encouraging round the clock (RTC) power, is a pioneering one, that aims to smoothen the intermittent power supply of renewable energy by promoting hybrid energy and battery storage integrated (HES) projects.

The HES approach, helps maximize the benefits of renewable energy projects by combining the day-time generation from solar and wind-dependent turbines, with seasonal capacities of hydropower, which in

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turn can be complemented by all-day power generation from thermal plants. This ensures round-the-clock power supply.

What is your take on MNRE’s issue of draft policy for supply of RTC power from RE projects? Do you think Energy Storage will be crucial for RTC power?

In order to be prepared for the grid conditions which are likely to come up in a few years, it is clear that GW scale Storage of RE Power and smoothening of RE Generation, through use of fast response Storage solutions, emerges as one of the most critical need to ensure GW scale RE integration in the system.

Major States are beginning to move on this front – Rajasthan and Karnataka have policies in place which actively promote energy storage and incentivise firm power. At the Central level, with MNRE’s stance on dispatchable power, and SECI tenders leading to encouraging tariffs, storage with RE will pick up substantial pace going forward. Recent results of RE tenders with Storage have seen unprecedented tariffs being discovered – weighted average of Rs 4.04 to 4.30 per unit.

At the Distribution end, we have seen Tata Power DDL deploy and operate a 10 MW pilot solution successfully for a couple of years now, which is likely to be upgraded as well as replicated across other Discoms. In fact, India Smart Grid Forum (ISGF) has done a study on Energy Storage Roadmap for India, which projects deployment requirement of 23 GWh by 2027 and more than 32 GWh by 2032 at the Distribution level.

InIt emerges clearly that while the market may come up on its own, it is essential for the Government/ Government functionaries to take concrete steps right now: POSOCO, being the system operator, is at the best place to evaluate quantum and location for placing storage solutions which can yield the highest benefit. POSOCO should seek mandatory dedicated grid scale energy storage at key locations in the grid.

State Regulators need to ensure that Storage mandatorily forms part of the transmission planning process, as well as part of the power procurement planning for Discoms. The State Regulators of Haryana have already brought out the necessary regulations to this effect, and few other State are deliberating on the same lines.

CERC is working on an ancillary services market framework, which should ensure equal market participation for all energy providers/consumers. The design as well as deployment of this framework would be critical in taking India to the next phase of Power Markets development, especially as power producers and end users will become connected across countries and continents.

A Grid connected independent Storage system should also be given the option to supply and/or draw power from the grid by accessing power markets, to help balance the system and also optimise the cost of operation.

AN 8% PERCENT RE CURTAILMENT WOULD LEAD TO A LOSS OF CLOSE TO 21 BU IN 2021-22. THIS, IN TURN, CORRESPONDS TO A LOSS OF RS 5,184 CR IN TERMS OF MONETARY VALUE OF RE AT AN AVERAGE COST OF RS 2.5/ KWH. IN STATES LIKE TAMIL NADU, ANDHRA PRADESH, KARNATAKA, THE CURTAILMENT COULD BE BETWEEN 10-25%."

Similarly, Transmission linked/ stand-alone Storage requirements have also been assessed by ISGF, concluding projected requirement of 38 GWh by 2027 and 97 GWh by 2032. In the same vein, CEA has also projected requirement of 108 GWh of Storage by 2030.

It emerges clearly that while the market may come up on its own, it is essential for the Government/ Government functionaries to take concrete steps right now:

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INCONVERSATION

AKSHAT DOSHI DIRECTOR, VISHAKHA RENEWABLES

Please brief our reader about the products & services provided by Vishakha Renewables.

Vishakha Renewables is one of the largest EVA and Backsheet manufacturers in India.

Currently we have 1.5 GW capacity of EVA and 3.5 GW capacity of back sheet manufacturing facility.

We use proven premium raw materials and manufacture best in quality EVA & Backsheet.

Our customer’s module with Vishakha EVA & BS has been ranked as “Top Performer” for 3 consecutive years by DNV-GL. We are backed with a strong R&D and customer support team providing after sales service and making customized products.

FEW OF THE RECENT ADVANCEMENTS ARE FOR BIFACIAL MODULES, RECENTLY WE HAVE LAUNCHED POE ENCAPSULANTS & TRANSPARENT BACKSHEET. EVEN WITH THE DECREASING TREND OF COST/WATT OF SOLAR MODULES, WE ARE CONSISTENT IN OUR PRODUCT QUALITY RATHER, IMPROVING IN QUALITY.

What are the technological advancements that have happened in this business category?

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"VISHAKHA RENEWABLES IS ONE OF THE LARGEST EVA AND BACKSHEET MANUFACTURERS IN INDIA." We are adopting to the technological advancements and continuously working with our customers in developing new products.

Few of the recent advancements are for Bifacial modules, recently we have launched POE encapsulants & Transparent Backsheet.

Even with the decreasing trend of cost/watt of solar modules, we are consistent in our product quality rather, improving in quality.

Which gives confidence to our customers to provide extended warranty on their modules.

Also we have developed white EVA for increased power output of the solar module by increasing the internal reflection.

What are some of the milestones by your company in the past year?

Our customer’s module with Vishakha EVA & BS has been ranked as “Top Performer” for 3 consecutive years by DNV-GL. We started with Fast cure type EVA, then Ultra Fast and now had reached Mega Fast Cure EVA, thereby increasing the productivity at our customer end.

We have back sheets for 1000 & 1500 V system, including transparent type and colored type back sheets.

In short period of time, we have developed many products as per the market and customer requirements.

We have supplied around 900 MW of EVA 700 MW of Back sheets to Tier-1 customer in last year.

We have gained confidence of many customers on us and on our products. This drives us to invest on expansion of our manufacturing capacity.

With the new "Vocal for Local", how do you see Vishakha Renewables growing with this notion?

We as a group support and promote “Vocal for Local”. Earlier almost all of our raw materials were to be imported, but we have decided to develop local manufacturers and working jointly with them and have developed some local manufacturers and still few are being imported.

We also have a general appeal to promote India products, good demand in EVA & BS will be make many companies to invest in raw material manufacturing in India, which will also be cost effective. We also provide employment to around 100+ in Kutch District, Mundra through our renewable business and with our expansion plans in few months it will be around 300+.

How do you see your evolve over the years?

We are also starting production of new plant “Vishakha Metals” which Aluminium frame by Sep 2020 in Mundra. This will be the biggest aluminium extrusion and largest state of art anodizing plant in India. Over the years we have plans to expand our EVA manufacturing up to a total of 4.5 GW capacity, with adding 1.5 GW within a year.

WE ARE ADOPTING TO THE TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS AND CONTINUOUSLY WORKING WITH OUR CUSTOMERS IN DEVELOPING NEW PRODUCTS."

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INSIGHTS

Challenges &Way Forward FOR ROOFTOP SOLAR The country is blessed with ample potential for the growth of solar energy, being strategically placed in the perfect geographical location, having 250-300 tropical sunny days. A big opportunity lies there and with a little push and help from the Government in a sustainable manner, this can help India achieve its 40GW target of rooftop solar - an undoubtedly ambitious target. Creating an ecosystem where everyone is involved and actively participating to make India a global leader in the space will be possible with innovative schemes and programmes.

Today, many businesses and homeowners face high electricity bills. Investing in a solar rooftop system, that has a life of 25 years, ensures reduced dependency on grid power and decreases electricity bill by up to 90%. While benefits of solar are well established, transitioning to solar has not always been easy for customers.

Customer awareness is still lacking, and it is something we address on a day to day basis. Though government is striving to address this issue, there is still a large mass of customers that go unaddressed. Solar has achieved grid parity across several States and Customer Segments and is one of the best investments anyone could make.

The rooftop solar market is a very localized market, which creates an issue in the minds of the consumer to make a quick decision in finalizing an installer. For example, consumers might easily relate to TV brands or car brands but the same does not apply to solar as there are a lot of regionals players.

Unlike other sectors, there is no deadline to “go solar� so people do not prioritize solar in the private sector. However, in some states, the mandate is for residential communities to have solar for new buildings. It would be highly beneficial for all states to formalize such a policy. Homes and existing buildings should also be addressed in such a policy. The government should aide in motivating the customer by providing lucrative incentives. And finally, solar policy on net metering should be very clear so that the customer sees the benefit and is able to make a quick decision.

Financial support by means of loans, working capital, etc are made available towards large MW scale proj ects but no such instruments are available for rooftop solar customers focused on residential, commercial & industrial category.

Finally, customers also end up with the hassle of dealing with 3-4 different entities through the journey of owning a solar system. These things undermine customer experience and slow down adoption of rooftop solar.

WAY FORWARD Looking at a solution from the consumer' s perspective can help overcome problems better. For rooftop solar to be mainstream in India, there is a dire need for awareness and ensuring clarity of basic information with ease of finance options for installation. India will shine brighter and better than now if the consumer-centric approach is adopted.

The need for clear, credible information about rooftop solar PV that can be easily comprehended by the end-user should be introduced along with awareness via mediums that reach the common man. An information kit that comprises of basic information in layman’ s language on subj ects such as how much area is required to generate a unit of electricity, who can they contact for after-sales services, important maintenance care kit, the difference between net and gross metering, installation time, household utilities and so on.

To bridge this gap, we at Freyr Energy, rolled out the SunPro+ App for anyone who wants to learn about Solar, is looking at reducing their electricity bills, get a quote, place an order, track system installation and monitor system performance. The AI-enabled technology ensures that users get information relevant and specific to their Solar needs

Author: Radhika Choudary, Director & Co-founder, Freyr Energy

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COVER STORY

PINAKI BHATTACHARYYA Co-Founder & CEO AMP Energy India

Indian solar sector over the last decade or so has made great strides in terms of growth by way of capacity addition, strengthening of the regulatory framework and developing the ecosystem at large. India is now the 3rd largest market for solar in the world only behind China and the US. The need for an alternate, affordable source of power fuelled by the rising prices of energy in India alongside supply which is unable to keep pace with demand has been the driving force for renewables in the country.

Despite initial challenges, solar has taken flight in India steered by the farsighted, focussed and collaborative approach of the government to push the sector towards achieving an ambitious target of 100GW of solar by 2022.

IMPACT OF BASIC CUSTOM DUTIES

(BCD) ON INDIAN SOLAR SECTOR

Now, the solar ecosystem consists of project generators and equipment manufacturers among other stakeholders such as EPC players, financiers etc. The government has been trying to develop the sector as a whole but the policies that it introduces have different impacts on different stakeholders.

Initially when the sector had just started to take off, there were no trade barriers for the industry with a view to maximise capacity deployment. Off late with an intent to promote domestic manufacturing and allow level playing field for Indian manufacturers, the government has started to impose trade and tariff barriers. Such policy barriers and uncertainties in a growing sector adversely impact the growth of the sector.

Taking a case in point- GoI imposed a safeguard duty (SGD) on solar panels and modules in July 2018 which will expire at the end of July this year. The idea was to level the playing field to domestic manufacturers against their Chinese counterparts but the objectives have not been met.

SGD was not as effective in improving the quality, scale and price of domestic equipment manufacturing. Local solar manufacturing remains what it was two years ago. Last week, the Ministry of Trade & Commerce put in a recommendation to continue the SGD for another year which is a total surprise.

Now in addition to this, the government has once again triggered a new uncertainty in a sector already grappling with multiple challenges, weak 2020 growth and at such an unprecedented time. Basic Customs Duty which had been under exemption since March 2005 will be imposed on solar modules and cells.

It is imperative to note that any trade barrier in terms of a duty or tax on equipment is ultimately passed onto the customer in terms of higher cost of power which is not the best move. In times like this any move that increases power costs will increase the operating costs for Indian Industry and as a result it will decrease their profitability which is anyway under stress and also increase the cost of products in India. The solar power is being supplied directly or indirectly to industries such as cement, steel, pharma, FMCG, Telecom, automobiles and education all which need access to low cost power now. Hence this move just favours a few companies whereas it has a detrimental impact on far too many.

Instead of imposing trade barriers, the government should focus on reducing the cost of domestic manufacturing of modules and cells with cost subsidies, interest subversion and lower power cost. This will also ensure competitiveness in the global market.

As India now focuses on promoting ' ' Atma Nirbhar Bharat' ' which is a step in the right direction, the main question remains whether the government will choose to promote one segment at the cost of many more segments.

As India now focuses on p Nirbhar Bharat'' which is a step direction, the main question rem government will choose to prom the cost of many more segments | JULY ISSUE 2020

COVER STORY

ANIMESH DAMANI Partner Artha Energy Resources

India has one of the world’ s largest and most ambitious solar programmes. By 2022, India has targeted to set-up 100 GW of Solar. India has already installed 37. 6 GW, i. e. , it has achieved 37% of the target by 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the failure in achieving the target is a foregone conclusion. To add to the pain, there is a considerable amount of chatter around the imposition of Basic Customs Duty (BCD) on solar cells and modules. The Hon. Power Minister RK Singh has suggested a BCD of 25% from August 2020 that would increase up to 40% after a year. Such a move, if implemented, will crush an already struggling solar market while also raising the cost of power procured from solar.

Fig 1

In 2018, the government had imposed 25% safeguard duty on solar modules and cells (cells are assembled to make modules) imported from China and a few other countries, applicable for a year from July 30, 2018 to July 29, 2019. The rate of duty would decline to 20% and 15% for the next two half-year periods. The currently applicable safeguard duty of 15% would expire this month. The imposition of safeguard duty did not arrest the imports from China (see fig 1). In fact, solar modules/cell imports from China have increased at 9. 56% CAGR from 2016-17 to 201920. Hence, despite its best intentions, protection measures for the domestic industry did not yield the desired result.

Nearly 85% of the annual installations are large scale project development, while 15% is that of the roof-top solar market. BCD may not affect large scale project development as most of these projects are auctioned by the Central government agencies like SECI, NTPC or State government and BCD’ s imposition is considered under “change in law” clause that allows for pass-through of the duty imposed. However, this raises the cost of power from solar.

In a recent SECI tender, an increase/decrease in tariff is allowed of ₹ 0. 05/kWh for every increase/decrease of ₹ 1, 00, 000 of impact on the cost of Solar PV Modules. Hence, we could see an upward revision of tariffs in auctioned solar projects, thereby raising the cost of procurement for discoms. This makes solar power unattractive for discoms and negatively affects the demand from discom.

Fig 2 tsoc tcejorp ni esaercnI

Moreover, the pace of solar installations in the country was deeply affected by the imposition of safeguard duty (see fig 2). Quarterly solar installations fell from a peak of 3GW + in Q1 2018 to below 2GW by Q2 2018 with the imposition of safeguard duty. Quarterly installations started to regain momentum as the safeguard duty rates decreased. If BCD is introduced, it will certainly take winds out of the sail for the sector.

Fig 3

In the roof-top market, we expect that project cost to increase by a minimum of 11. 2% if 25% BCD is imposed or by 16. 8% if 40% BCD is imposed. (see fig 3). The roof-top market is primarily driven by PSU demand such as Indian Railways, Industrial and Commercial installation (C&I), and Residential installations. It is widely expected the ongoing pandemic will impact C&I installations and residential installations as consumers look to postpone capex to conserve cash. In such a scenario, the increase in solar projects’ costs would negatively impact consumer sentiment further.

Hence, I strongly recommend against the imposition of BCD as it negatively impacts the entire solar industry. Power from utility-scale projects becomes more expensive and raises the cost of procurement from the discom. This, in turn, raises the power cost for the end consumer. Roof-top projects which are seeing a demand depression due to the pandemic will be further depressed and prolong the recovery.

Lastly, Indian manufactures who have been unable to compete in the past when safeguard duty was in place, would not find much legroom in a depressed solar market.

promoting ''Atma p in the right mains whether the mote one segment at s.

PG 25

COVER STORY DR. SANJAY VASHISHTHA

BHARAT BHUT

CEO

Director

First Green Solar

Goldi Solar

The Government of India imposed safeguard duty in early July 2018 to restrict the import of solar cells and modules imported from China. The duty imposed was of the order of 25% which has come down gradually to the level of 15% and now about to end by the end of July 2020. However, the Government has reinstituted the safeguard of 20% on Chinese modules. Government has also proposed leaving basic custom duty of 20% on solar cells and panels which will be progressively increased to 30% and 40% in subsequent years.

While the government of India has an ambitious target of achieving 175 GW by 2022 it looks like this target cannot be achieved by increasing the safeguard duties or customs duties on imports of solar panels and solar cells. The idea to impose safeguard duty or custom duty on Chinese import was to protect domestic manufacturers. However the domestic manufacturers capacity utilisation still remains at 50%. The imports of solar cells have reduced from China even after imposition of safeguard duty remains to the tune of 65% of the level of previous years import if we compare the data before 2018.

It is important to understand here the fact that how Chinese companies are able to withstand competition even after imposition of these trade tariffs as entry barriers. There are two major advantages which Chinese companies enjoy. The first advantage is the Government support in terms of low-cost financing. . The Government provides Chinese companies capital at the rate of 5% interest rate while in India the interest rates to the solar manufacturers are off the order of 10 to 11%. The second advantage is the low cost raw materials and supply chain infrastructure. Such as the raw material pure silicon, glass sheets, Aluminium, and back sheets. , etc.

In fact the cost of electricity to Chinese industries is also much cheaper as compared to the Indian industrial tariffs. Solar cell manufacturing is an energy intensive job and most of the manufacturers in China get electricity at the rate of 0. 07 - 0. 08 USD per KWh, which is uninterrupted power supply and with good quality electricity. If you compare this with Indian industry the typical industrial tariffs are off the order of Rs. 7 per KWh. The production cost of solar modules is significantly affected by the economy of scale. While India’ s total solar module manufacturing capacity is about 11 GW and our focus is only on the domestic sales, the manufacturing cost to our manufacturers, still remains over 30% higher as compared to Chinese manufacturers. Indian solar module and cell manufacturers were doing reasonably well till 2010 and the companies like Tata, Meuser beer and Lanco who are exporting solar panels to the other countries as well. However, we could not keep the pace with the Chinese competition and most of these big Indian solar companies are on the verge of bankruptcy. It is not that Indian companies are only affected by the low-cost Chinese module and solar cell supply it may be noted that the companies like SunEdison US is already bankrupt and the stress is being felt by the other US companies such as First Solar, and Sunpower who are operating currently to the level of less than 10% of their former market caps. In order to protect the domestic manufacturing sector, the trade tariff on Chinese modules has also been imposed by the US and EU.

Imposing BCD is a great initiative by the Indian Government, taken in the interest and well-being of Indian manufacturers. This decision shall help the Indian Solar players grow at a rapid rate considering the fair competition of prices between locally manufactured goods and imported goods. Moreover, this will eventually lead to accomplishing the dream of ATMA NIRBHAR BHARAT as seen by our respectable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and every Indian citizen.

With no compromise on quality and fair pricing policy, the Indian market is sure to grow manifolds."

For a very long time, Indian manufacturers were facing disparity in prices and quality, as low-quality products were dumped in the market at throw away prices. But with the implementation of BCD, we are grateful that Indian manufacturers are now given an opportunity to provide good quality products as opposed to a massive 90% stock that was imported from specific countries, directly or indirectly.

With no compromise on quality and fair pricing policy, the Indian market is sure to grow manifolds.

Furthermore, I believe that BCD should be around 50% on all imported PV modules. With this we have taken a decision to increase our capacity to 1. 2GW in addition to current capacity of 500MW. In my opinion, over the next one year, BCD in the range of 10-30% should be levied on cells too. This will boost morale and confidence of Indian manufacturers like us, to expand the existing manufacturing capabilities into solar cells too.

I strongly believe that the combination of a low-cost funding to the industry and imposition of BCD will lead all of us to fulfill Atmanirbhar Bharat.

I' d conclude by reiterating the fact that this will have a huge positive impact on the solar industry. And we as a team are extremely thankful to the Indian government for introducing BCD.

Indian manufacturers should take this opportunity of trade to improve their manufacturing capability not only for solar modules and cells, but we should also focus on other materials such as becksheet, glass, junction boxes and aluminum frames which are predominantly imported by the module manufacturers as part of their supply chain requirements.

The trade restrictions on China are going to give temporary relief and there is a need to focus on technology development which will be a key to win with competing Chinese firms. Government should come up with research and development programmes in solar PV modules and develop joint R&D facilities for the consortium to module manufacturers.

The idea to impose safeguard duty or custom duty on Chinese import was to protect domestic manufacturers." | JULY ISSUE 2020

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COVER STORY SUNIL BADESRA Business Head Sungrow (India) Private Limited

K.N.SREEVATSA Country Head FIMER (INDIA)

Recently proposed Basic Custom Duties (BCD) will impact the Indian Solar sector. Projects which have already been awarded and likely to get covered under the grandfather clause will get passthrough. However, few projects like Private Rooftop and Distributed Solar projects which don’ t fall under this or don’ t have change in law clauses in their contract, may get impacted. As on today, we have limited manufacturing capacity in India as compared to the demand and plans. So, in case BCD is imposed, we can expect tariff hike in the upcoming biddings. At the same time, the purpose of BCD must be aligned to ensure the success of local manufacturing in the long run instead of restricting the import only. To achieve that, locally manufactured products should be given preference in the tenders and be used more in India. Also, the Government should relax or minimize the import duty of the components in the short term while incentivising the local component manufacturers to build and scale up in the interim period to meet the future demand. A Phased Manufacturing Plan of various internal components/parts would be more beneficial to achieve maximum localization and build a robust supply chain with a clear roadmap. These cohesive steps along with BCD will drive the industry to the mission of a truly Atma Nirbhar Bharat.

A Phased Manufacturing Plan of various internal components/parts would be more beneficial to achieve maximum localization and build a robust supply chain with a clear roadmap."

The decision of the Indian govt to hike the BCD on Solar Equipment is made with a clear attempt to encourage local manufacturing and to support the local manufacturers to further strengthen their position. This will have considerable long- and short-term benefits to PV projects especially the developers, by means of reduction of LCOE for the lifetime of the project.

At FIMER, we support our Honorable Prime Minister’ s vision of “Atma Nirbhar Bharat”, wherein we strengthen our existing local electronic manufacturing setup, drive our R&D efforts all while generating local employment in the process. This is a wonderful opportunity for the nation to build its own resources and be an economic powerhouse in the future.

We shall continue to be in this business of Solar Inverters bringing the premium quality inverters to our customers, robust and build to last. We also believe in being self-sufficient as a nation and would like to mention that our Central Inverters are “Made in India” at our Nelamangala, Bengaluru facility. Our range of products including our central inverters, string inverters and microgrid solutions - best in quality, high performance driven and reliable coming from a brand that has over decades of experience.

RAJARAM PAI Business Leader - South Asia & Middle East DuPont Photovoltaic Solutions

Recent announcements on possible imposition of BCD are pushing Indian manufacturers and developers to brace for the potential impact of duties and prepare future case scenarios.

Today, with global cross border exchanges of goods and services serving as the key levers for driving and sharing progress, it is important for countries to participate in and promote a business environment that collectively encourages growth.

For India, a comprehensive plan drawing on the government’ s learning from the past, inputs from key PV value chain stakeholders and identifying the term bound milestones will be the first step. A robust confluence comprising components and equipment manufacturing, R&D, intensifying vertical integration and skilling resources; along with the prioritized lower rates of short and long-term capital for the industry are focus areas for consideration.

In summary, imposing BCD per se may curtail imports, though will be an insufficient measure for driving growth across the Indian PV industry without the complementary development of an ecosystem that promotes self-reliance.

Imposing BCD per se may curtail imports, though will be an insufficient measure for driving growth across the Indian PV industry"

| JULY ISSUE 2020

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PERSPECTIVE

WILL REAL-TIME POWER MARKET BE IDEAL IN DEALING WITH VARIABILITY AND SUDDEN DEMAND SURGE

ROHIT BAJAJ Senior Vice President & Head Of Business Development Indian Energy Exchange

The real-time market was initiated with a purpose to make the power market dynamic through its 48 half-hourly auctions – a new auction window opens every 30 minutes during the day.

The new market segment has successfully managed to offer optimal and efficient utilization of resources. The distribution utilities, the generating companies, and large energy intensive consumers are now able to manage power demand-supply variability in the most cost-effective way, integrate renewable energy effectively, reduce DSM penalties as well as enhanced grid security. RTM, since its launch on 31 May 2020 has enabled utilities to meet 24x7 power supply aspirations in the most flexible, efficient, and dynamic way.

Until commencement of the real-time market, the already financially stressed utilities had to opt for deviation settlement mechanisms for balancing real-time requirements which resulted in huge financial penalties for them. They now have access to market auctions throughout the day and thus, can avoid paying the high deviation settlement charges, lowering the overall cost of procurement, encouraging financial liquidity and savings.

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The generation companies too now have an opportunity to sell any excess or un-requisitioned capacity on round the clock basis through this market to a wide set of buyers thus enabling efficient use of the installed generation capacity. Moreover, with several states having a renewable energy concentration will be helped by the market to forecast and schedule green energy in an effective way thereby supporting the national green energy aspirations towards building India as a sustainable green energy economy.

Since its launch, RTM has received a great response from all participants which is evident from the fact that RTM has traded 1026 MU volume in the first 50 days – from 1 June until 20 July with over 230 participants in the new market segment. We are seeing trading volumes per day growing gradually too with the highest trading volume recorded in a day being 36. 74 MUs on July 03, 2020.

The new market segment has successfully managed to offer optimal and efficient utilization of resources. The distribution utilities, the generating companies, and large energy intensive consumers are now able to manage power demand-supply variability in the most cost-effective way, integrate renewable energy effectively, reduce DSM penalties as well as enhanced grid security.

PG 28

P.K.AGARWAL

SABYASACHI MAJUMDAR

Former Director & CISO

Senior Vice President

POSOCO Ltd.

ICRA limited

The primary responsibility of the utilities is to meet power demand of its consumers in an economical and reliable way. To maintain the adequacy of power, utilities buy/sell power for long term (typically 7-10 years in advance), for medium term (3 months to 5 years advance) and for short-term (up to 3 months in advance).

Utilities do most of their operational planning one day ahead the actual day of dispatch based on the demand and generation forecasts and expectations. To meet the demand, utilities buy or sell power in the day ahead market (DAM). Utilities meet the realtime deviations through the unscheduled power and which is settled under Deviation Settlement Mechanism (DSM) regulations.

Deviations more than the limits attract penalties.

However, the dynamic nature of the grid, because of changes in demand, disturbs the adequacy plans of the utilities. This is further aggravated because of increased penetration of variable generation. If the utilities do not handle these uncertainties proactively, they may have to pay heavy penalties for the large deviations under DSM and congestion charges.

Forecasting helps in reducing the uncertainty of renewable generation but to the limited extent owing to the inherent inaccuracies in weather forecast and estimation of other unknown factors. Reserve can also help to address the variability of RE power, but reserves procurement incurs cost. Demand-side flexibility can also help in handling the variability of RE generation.

But the demand response framework is yet to be implemented in India.

The forecasting accuracy is generally more in forecast nearer to the time of dispatch. Hence utilities need more options for readj usting their schedules as near as possible to the time of dispatch. Before the launch of Real-time Market in India, utilities were having only two options one is intraday/contingency market and other is right to revise the schedules. But both the options have their own limitations. Intraday/contingency market operates only up to 3 hrs before the time of dispatch and is uncertain.

Option of right of revision of schedule has very low liquidity as limited URS power is available for this because of dispatch of power under RRAS by grid operators.

In such scenarios real-time market provides the market-based option for handling the imbalances because of variability of RE resources. Real-Time market operates with more liquidity for two reasons first is the availability of more URS power as grid operator dispatches RRAS after RTM clears and other is more numbers of participants. RTM is available up to one hour before the time of dispatch and provides an opportunity nearer to the actual dispatch when the forecast is more accurate and maximum certainty is achieved. In this way, RTM will help in dealing with the uncertainty of variable generation and integration of more RE power in the grid.

| JULY ISSUE 2020

The launch of real-time market (RTM) for power trading on June 1, 2020 is expected to lead to an efficient price discovery in the power trading market. The RTM power trading would enable the distribution utilities and the open access consumers to bid for electricity within one hour of the requirement, against the prevailing day-ahead market (DAM). This would enable the discoms and system operators to lower the cost of grad balancing by reducing dependence on deviation settlement mechanism (DSM) and ancillary services. The introduction of RTM trading would enable efficient price discovery for electricity and support grid balancing activities. This is especially significant in the context of rising share of renewable energy in the electricity generation in India. Considering a 50 paise per unit saving under RTM trading against DSM and assuming a 50% transition in procurement from DSM to RTM in the near to medium term, the annual savings for discoms and open access consumers is estimated to be Rs. 550 crore. Further, a robust communication and software systems remain crucial for implementation of the real time market.

With the strong policy support and improved tariff competitiveness of wind and solar power, the share of renewable energy in the all India electricity generation has increased to 10. 0% in FY2020 from 5. 6% in FY2016. This coupled with the variable nature of renewable generation adversely impacts the grid balancing process. While the gradual implementation of forecasting and scheduling mechanisms for wind and solar power proj ects is expected to ease the grid balancing process, the availability of RTM power trading would provide an enabling mechanism for efficient grid management.

The prices on the power exchange market (both RTM and DAM) are expected to remain subdued (i. e. less than Rs. 3/unit) in the near term, given the surplus capacity scenario and subdued demand growth expectations for the current year, with the adverse impact of the ongoing lockdown / restrictions imposed to control Covid-19 pandemic. Subdued power tariffs on power exchange thus remain positive for the discoms and open access consumers and in turn, would also augment the open access transactions.

However, such spot tariffs remain viable for the thermal IPPs which do not have long term PPAs. Given the attractive spot tariffs, the industrial and commercial consumers may increase their power procurement through open access using RTM and DAM on power exchanges. This in turn may negatively impact the revenues and profitability for discoms, given that such consumer segments cross subsidise the supply to domestic and agriculture consumers of the discoms. Considering open access charges at the higher end of Rs. 4 per unit and spot power tariff of Rs. 2. 5 per unit, the procurement from open access is likely to be more economical for the industrial and commercial consumers at the prevailing grid tariff rates. This in turn may also lead to an upward pressure on cross subsidy surcharge and additional surcharge imposed by the discoms so as to discourage such open access.

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HITEN G. PAREKH Chief Business Officer SolarSquare Energy Pvt Ltd

RE Generator can also sell its power in the present Day Ahead Market or Term Ahead Markets. In DAM, they can place bids between market hours i. e. 10 am to 12 noon and the generator can claim a number of RECs equivalent to the cleared volume of renewable energy. Since it is a collective transaction, no revisions are allowed. 75 Million Units (MUs) RE Power has been sold in DAM in IEX in FY 2019-20. RE Generators also have the option to sell its power in Intra-day, Day Ahead Contingency, Daily and Weekly Contracts of TAM Segment.

The RE Generator may claim RECs against power sold in this market.

No revisions are allowed. Till date no RE Generator has participated in the TAM market.

Green - Day Ahead Market operate j ust before a current day ahead market along with separate products for type of renewable i. e. Solar, Non-Solar, Hydro, would not only separate the conventional day ahead market from the renewable market but also fragment it into separate categories by type of renewable generation. This therefore is not suitable if we want to create an integrated market for electricity although there could be provision to allow bidders to participate in the subsequent day ahead market, however this transition would be a pain for the participants as well as for the agencies involved in the process i. e. Exchanges and System operators. Further this option does not address the constraint of multi exchange scenarios as there would be different price signals emerging from different exchanges and the volume of trade also gets shared between the exchanges. As such integration would not happen in this sense as well.

In Green Term Ahead Market (TAM) at Exchange, wherein different contracts based on the time before the actual delivery is another possibility. The proposal by IEX regarding this market is in advance of consideration at CERC and CERC has reserved the order on this Petition. Some enabling amendments in REC Regulations and DSM Regulations have been proposed which are being considered by CERC. This proposal again affects development of an integrated market, particularly the intra- day and day ahead contingency contracts. However, other contracts which are a little away from the date of delivery (daily or weekly contracts) would not directly impact the integration process in the day ahead time frame, though it would take away some liquidity from the day ahead market. As such these contracts also do not fully satisfy obj ectives fully, though in absence of any other feasible solution these can be considered (except intraday and day ahead contingency contracts) for further action.

RE Generator can also sell its power in the present Day Ahead Market or Term Ahead Markets. In DAM, they can place bids between market hours i.e. 10 am to 12 noon and the generator can claim a number of RECs equivalent to the cleared volume of renewable energy. Since it is a collective transaction, no revisions are allowed. 75 Million Units (MUs) RE Power has been sold in DAM in IEX in FY 2019-20.

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PERSPECTIVE

INDIA'S FIRST OF IT'S KIND ROUND-THE-CLOCK TENDER HOW WILL IT CHANGE THE FUTURE OF RENEWABLE GROWTH?

PRAKASH MORANKAR Chief Operating Officer ENGIE Solar

India is committed to installing 175 GW of renewable energy (RE) sources by 2022 and 450 GW by 2030. However, intermittent power generated through renewable sources and its implication on grid safety has been a concern. On the other hand, there are about 26 GW of stranded thermal power assets in total, lying unutilized, that can provide firm power to the grid.

India has begun initiating steps to ensure round-the-clock (RTC) power supply through renewable energy.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has issued a draft policy for supply of RTC power from renewable energy proj ects complemented with thermal power proj ects. The policy has been introduced to address intermittency issues related to renewable energy and low capacity utilization of transmission infrastructure. Here, ‘ reverse bundling’ would be employed, wherein high-cost thermal power is bundled with low-cost

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renewable energy in order to provide RTC power to Discoms.

This will help the Discoms to purchase firm power at competitive rates to meet their deficits and reduce their financial woes to some extent. It will also help the Discoms to meet their RPO obligations.

The MNRE conducted an RTC auction earlier this month for 400 MW of proj ects, where the levelized tariff emerged at Rs 3. 60 per unit.

In order to have renewable power running on a continuous basis, there needs to be a right mix of generation sources. One way is to maintain energy storage or install hybrid units of wind, solar and other renewable sources together. However, this combination depends on the cost of storage and on the profile of power generation that matches the demand curve. With the declining costs of solar proj ects and battery storage, it is almost certain that battery storage will be implemented in a big way.

This would be a maj or factor to provide grid stability.

Due to environmental concerns, globally and in India, we have a vision of achieving 100% power through renewable sources. In order to realize this vision, RTC will certainly be a clear requirement in the future.

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PEEYUSH MOHIT COO O2 Power

On 31st May 2020 India’ s solar and wind installed capacity reached 72. 6 GW. This represents around 20% share of the total installed capacity of the Indian electricity grid. Just to put things in context, five years ago the share of solar and wind capacity in the Indian grid was 8. 8%.

As India moves towards its goal of 175 GW, the share of renewable energy (RE) resources in the Indian grid is only going to go up. Certain studies conducted globally have concluded that 20% - 25% share of RE is manageable in most grids. Beyond that, significant investments need to be made in the grid to keep it resilient.

Such investments, coupled with the fact that non-RE generators remain idle for longer durations, result in additional charges getting imposed on the power system. These charges are hidden in the sense that if one were to simply look at RE tariffs, one would not be able to get a complete picture of the full cost imposed by RE generation on the system.

This is precisely where Round-The-Clock (RTC) or even Peaking Power assets help. The last RTC tender issued by SECI specified a minimum annual CUF of 80%. This is a CUF range where, typically, conventional power plants operate. At such CUFs, it becomes possible to reduce the hidden costs of RE power significantly.

As an additional benefit, this tender discovered a first-year tariff of INR 2. 9/kWh and a levelized tariff of INR 3. 6/kWh. This tariff is arguably lower than the tariff that a conventional power asset would discover today. This is a new realm for the country where a RE asset can supply RTC power at a rate cheaper than a conventional power asset.

To be sure, the firmness of power supplied under this tender would not be as high as that of a conventional plant as there are no daily or hourly stipulations. However, this is undoubtedly a promising start. Future tenders may specify more stringent conditions but as storage prices come down, it might be possible to meet those conditions also without a considerable rise in tariff.

So, purely from an economics perspective, I am quite hopeful that renewable power would become increasingly dispatchable and round-the-clock going forward.

However, these proj ects are challenging. The design is highly optimized and the CUF requirement is high. This requires large capacity to be installed for which multiple good wind and solar sites need to be found and power has to be inj ected into the grid at multiple points. Batteries are also integrated with the generation capacity. Industry will learn to master the art of building such proj ects over time. I therefore believe that an accommodative government stance and a sustained pipeline of such proj ects would be helpful for the industry and our nation.

I AM QUITE HOPEFUL THAT RENEWABLE POWER WOULD BECOME INCREASINGLY DISPATCHABLE AND ROUND-THECLOCK GOING FORWARD" SOLAR

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PERSPECTIVE

IMPACT OF PENALTY DUE TO

NON COMPLIANCE OF RPO JITENDRA NALWAYA Vice President, BSES Yamuna Power Limited

India is on track to achieve 175 GW of renewable energy by 2022. According to 2027 blueprint, India aims to have 275 GW from renewable energy by 2027 and 450 GW by 2030. Accordingly the target for Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) has been set by regulator for all the States. The increase in penalties for non-compliance of RPOs on the shortfall energy would lead to rise in demand of renewables. However, the issues of Discoms regarding their inability to meet the RPO also need to be looked as most States fail to meet RPO targets with some States achieving less than 60%. In view of recent COVID-19 pandemic the Discom' s are reeling under huge cash flow crisis due to reduction in demand, accordingly few States such as Punj ab have already reduced the RPO targets for FY 20-21 . Some Discom related issues are briefed hereunder: DISCOMs issues related to non compliance of RPO:

1

HIGH ALLOCATION MIX OF CONVENTIONAL POWER:

It is a fact that India’ s coal generation capacity alone is higher than its peak demand. The peak demand may like to replace as there is peak shortfall in country if only thermal is considered.

The total long term allocation of power of DISCOMs is way higher than the demand.

During off peak seasons, even at the technical minimum of long term conventional generation allocation, there is huge surplus power which needs to be disposed at market rate below par.

The must-run minimum quantum from existing conventional PPAs does not allow DISCOMs to tie up for additional infirm RE power.

In case of BYPL, the total long term allocation of power is way higher than the demand of BYPL. In lean months, even if the conventional generation allocation of BYPL is reduced to more than half, there will still be surplus power remained in the system which is difficult to dispose or

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2

NON-SURRENDER OF INEFFICIENT AND UN-ECONOMIC PPAS:

manage. Penalties on surplus power (like DSM sign change, less realization rates) and system security issues will increase with the increase of RE allocation in portfolio without reducing the existing conventional portfolio.

With high degree of RE penetration in the DISCOMs allocation mix, the inefficient and un-economic conventional allocation needs to be surrendered to optimize the cost of power purchase for DISCOMs and to balance the demand supply scenario.

With the vision to have high share of RE power, the regulator/Govt. needs to dismantle the inefficient plants.

(Example: Badarpur Thermal Power Station Delhi was dismantled).

Regulatory and Government bodies may also ascertain the Environmental concerns and hazards of existing Coal based thermal stations.

3

DISCOMS POOR FINANCIAL HEALTH:

The DISCOMs financial health is deteriorating due to non implementation of cost reflective tariff which has resulted in huge regulatory asset (RA’ s).

In Discom’ s ARRs, there remains shortfall even to purchase conventional energy resulting Discom’ s inability to purchase RPO. ARR approvals should be implemented in line with previous RA liquidation by State regulators. This will help Discoms to procure RE power in a planned manner.

As explained above, a cautious approach is, therefore, required, for the financial sustainability of power distribution companies. To sum-up, it is suggested that RPO purchases and stricter penalties on non-compliances should only be implemented if, Discoms are financially sustainable and they have options available to revisit and manage their existing long term portfolios.

PG 34

PERSPECTIVE NIKHIL GUPTA Business Head- PVI Solutions Delta Electronics India Pvt Ltd.

India’ s long term plan to reduce its assistance on thermal fuel can soon turn into a reality thanks to the tremendous progress in the country’ s renewable energy sector. By taking necessary steps to reduce the carbon footprints and adopting clean energy to power all the electricity needs, India is fully utilizing the potential of renewable energy. Further, the government’ s prime agenda is to create a natural demand for Renewable power at competitive cost levels.

It is obligatory for the discoms to purchase a specific share of power from renewable energy sources, as per RPO. In light of this, to address the non-compliance of renewable purchase obligations, it was considered imperative to add a new sub-section in the Draft Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2020.

As per the GOI, the escalation in the penalties for the non-compliance of renewable energy purchase obligations (RPOs) to upto Rs. 1 per kilowatt hour (KWh) of the deficit would cause an immense surge in demand. This might prompt DISCOMS to steer clear of these associated heavy fines, thereby bringing the government closer to achieving its set target of 450 GW capacity by 2030.

So far, owing to the lack of strict enforcement, the RPO has shown a dismal performance. This mechanism entails utilities and certain other power consumers to work towards neutralizing their carbon footprints, through using renewable electricity or buying renewable energy certificates (RECs) produced by wind and solar parks.

According to the concerned policy, the penalties shall start at 50 paise per KWh of the deficit and would be increased by one rupee per KWh of the deficit, an year later, which is enormous.

This would ultimately create a situation where Discoms would be looking for RE capacities on their own rather than auctioning it. The Government may start inviting the developers for setting up capacities and consequently we may see the present installed capacities getting multi-fold in a shorter span of time.

The associated market and demand risk pose as the biggest uncertainties for the investors. In the short run, the wide shift of distribution companies to REC market is unprecedented ( holding the idea that REC is a cheaper alternative in a power surplus scenario). Thus, in the present times, it is discerned that open access consumers and the CPPs will serve as the backbone for the REC market. Although, whether the two can alone sustain the REC market is yet to be seen.

THE GOVERNMENT’S PRIME AGENDA IS TO CREATE A NATURAL DEMAND FOR RENEWABLE POWER AT COMPETITIVE COST LEVELS."

Hopefully the adequate government support and faster implementation of policies, will help the RE industry to move closer towards their ambitious goal of 175GW Renewable Energy by 2022.

| JULY ISSUE 2020

PG 35

INSIGHTS

POWER MARKETS IN INDIA FOCUS ON REAL TIME: RTM & NEXT STEPS The economic and reliable power supply is the obj ective of any Load Dispatch Centre be it a TSO or a DSO. The traditional unidirectional flow of electricity is now being increasingly disrupted with the growing concern about global warming and hence rise of renewable power’ s share.

Traditionally in India, the share of power from long term PPA sources has been ~ 90%, which are being procured by Discoms. Over the past 10 years very little has changed: Renewable Energy Sources have shown rapid increase in share both in capacity and energy terms. The share of RES in national generation capacity has changed from 15% in 2008-09 to 46% in 2018-19 in terms of capacity (GW) and more than doubled from 4% to 9% in the same period in terms of Energy generation (BU).

The consumption growth has happened at more rapid pace in Residential consumer category over past 9 years. CAGR of consumer category wise consumption over 2008-09 to 2017-18 is as follows: DOMESTIC

COMMERCIAL

INDUSTRIAL

AGRICULTURAL

8%

6%

5%

7%

TRACTION

MISC

TOTAL

2%

10%

6%

SOURCE: CERC

CAGR

(2008-09 TO 2017-18)

THE COMPOSITION OF SHORT TERM POWER TRANSACTIONS IN INDIA OVER LAST 10 YEARS:

SOURCE: CERC

Re n e wa bl e E n e r gy S o u r c e s h a v e s h o wn r a pi d i n c r e a s e i n s h a r e bo t h i n c a pa c i t y a n d e n e r gy t e r ms . " SOURCE: CERC

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PG 36

The share of Power Exchange has gone up considerably, while it is expected that more products on PX shall increase the share further.

With RTM in place, shift in power transactions from DSM (in immediate future) and Traders / Direct trade (in near future) is expected.

Cost Inefficiencies in conventional cost plus tariff and lower utilization of thermal stations, especially after addition of RE, which has attained grid parity, has led to an opportunity for the power distribution utilities for sustainable power purchase cost optimization. There is an opportunity to tap energy markets equivalent to peak and intermediate load of distribution utilities. Further, the contribution of long term PPAs in the total energy transacted can come down with introduction of more efficient capacity markets.

SOURCE: IEX (HTTPS://WWW.IEXINDIA.COM/)

Stiff RPO targets have facilitated additions of RES in Discom’ s portfolio, thereby obviating the need for Life extension of the ageing coal based stations.

There is a need for portfolio optimization (capacity contracts) commensurate to the base load of the Discoms. In Delhi, for example, the tied up long term capacity from conventional sources is almost double the base load, thereby leading to surplus power, which is due to the MTL of the stations (55% for ISGS, For most of the SGS, it is ~ 70%).

Energy transition has emerged as an important phenomenon at global level, with countries, including India, committing itself to Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) in response to COP decisions 1/CP. 19 and 1/CP. 20 for the period 2021 to 2030:

To reduce the emissions intensity of its GDP by 33 to 35 percent by 2030 from 2005 level.

To achieve about 40 percent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel based energy resources by 2030 with the help of transfer of technology and low cost international finance including from Green Climate Fund (GCF).

The rise of Variable Renewable Energy and attainment of its grid parity has evoked a lot of interest in government’ s commitment towards Energy Transition. However, this also calls for the mitigation strategies to integrate variable RE into the grid, where Power market reforms shall play a vital role.

The availability of flexible and near Real Time Wholesale Power Market coupled with Demand Side Management and introduction of Retail market is now viewed as important enabler for RE integration, apart from introducing efficiencies in Utility Power procurement, which forms as high as 80% of their total cost of operations.

With effect from 01-June-2020, India adopted Real Time Market mechanism, where provisions of hour ahead gate closure & 48 half hourly market runs are available. Over the past one and half months, increasing trend in volume cleared as well competitive price discovery w. r. t. Day ahead Market has been seen, which is encouraging.

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It is envisaged that RTM shall get its volume from the transition of utilities of procuring power from DSM (which is not a market mechanism). It is pertinent to see the breakup of short term power transactions in India and its growth over a period of past 10 years.

Given the design of RTM with hourly gate closures and increasing DSM compliance requirements as per CERC DSM Regulations, there is increasing shift in the power being transacted in DSM to RTM platform. This is the desired outcome, as can be seen from past one month. However, with increasing penetration of RE in the grid, there will be an increasing need for volumes from the long term transactions to the Power Market – not necessarily real time but to other components like Capacity markets. There is a case for aligning the Wholesale market design with the demand profiles of Utilities (and associated Demand side management initiatives) as well as increasing RE share in the generation.

Current RTM design shall see many transformations in near future with imminent one is near real time gate closure & delivery (instead of hour-ahead now), with implementation of planned National Open Access Register (NOAR) & more robust clearance infrastructure. Few immediate suggestions to increase the depth of RTM and its adoption by Utilities include: Transition of the long term PPAs stations, which have completed normative useful life as per CERC/SERC Regulations, from the long term PPAs to the Wholesale market. This transition shall help Utilities optimize their portfolio and Fixed PPA costs, while integrating more VREs and plan for balancing resources at the DSO level.

The Gate closure for RE plants to be aligned with the two-part tariff conventional stations (7 – 8 time blocks, instead of current 4 time blocks). This shall help avoid coincidence of RTM gate closure and RE gate closure, thereby allowing utilities to tap RTM for RE balancing in real time.

While we are on a path to wholesale market reforms to increase transparency and efficiency, our ambitious national goals of integrating 40 GW of rooftop solar (Distributed Energy Resources) gives us an opportunity to leapfrog to DSO markets design and implementation. This shall help transform the current Distribution Business Model and adapt to the growing share of DERs.

Author: Abhishek Ranjan The author is presently working in power distribution sector in Delhi and has been contributing to the industry for over 2 decades.

The views expressed are personal.

PG 37

INSIGHTS

DECENTRALISED SOLAR CAN POWER INDIA’S AGRICULTURE SECTOR Author: Mr Amit Kaushik, ED (Growth), EESL

India aims to reduce its carbon consumption by a third, from its 2005 levels by 2030. The government is working diligently towards that goal and aims to install 175 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2022.

Solar power has emerged as a powerful tool for achieving that goal and has taken up the mantle of steering India’ s energy transition. Of the targeted 175GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022, 100GW is pegged to come from j ust solar proj ects. It has seen increased relevance in both rural and urban areas and provides a reliable and sustained avenue of clean, renewable energy to power India’ s growth engine.

India’ s agricultural sector consumes more than 18 percent of overall national electricity usage, yet its contribution to the GDP hovers around 5 percent. The subsidised electricity supply to the sector has led to piling losses for the DISCOMS, with the situation being made worse due to high transmission losses.

The solution to this quandary is to provide the requisite energy to the sector in a sustained manner and to ensure that the farms receive uninterrupted electricity supply in the daytime. Solar energy has long been the fulcrum of India’ s energy transition and can be the greener avenue for the energy security in the agricultural sector.

Solar power, and de-centralised solar in particular, can provide uninterrupted and sustainable electricity to the agriculture sector.

There are a multitude of benefits of decentralised solar for India’ s hinterlands. It offers remarkable scalability, as a large number of small solar power plants can be swiftly installed in the open or unused land of substations across the country. An example of the remarkable potential of decentralised solar is that there are currently around 40, 000 33/11 kV substations in the rural areas and even if only 1 MW solar power is connected to each

SOLAR

| JULY ISSUE 2020

of these sub-stations, a capacity of 40 GW solar can be added. This can save around 26 BU annually against T&D losses, which is worth Rs. 9000 crores to DISCOMs. In addition, there are 66/11 kV and 110/11 kV substations which can also act as anchor points for connecting small solar power generating plants.

Additionally, decentralised solar plants for the agricultural sector can obviate the considerable infrastructural costs that arise out of installing large new transmission lines. This translates into affordable and sustained power supply for the agriculture sector, during the day.

The DISCOMS also gain immensely, with mounting losses from agri-electricity subsidies being mitigated significantly, which contributes to the reduction of overall losses. The plummeting agricultural demand from the DISCOMS also helps increase energy access for industrial and commercial use. The approach used by EESL, through its BOOT business model also eliminates upfront cost to DISCOMs, wherein all capex and opex is being funded by EESL up-front and is recovered from the DISCOMs over the course of the proj ect period. The power generated is purchased by the DISCOMs by entering into a long term PPA of 25 years. EESL then installs the power plants and maintains them for a period of 25 years and the energy generated from the proj ects is sold back to DISCOM at a tariff equal to or lower than the CERC / SERC determined tariff. This makes the adoption of decentralised solar viable and attractive for the DISCOMs. In fact, EESL has already signed Power Purchase Agreement with the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) for 200 MW Solar power proj ects, with each proj ect capacity ranging from 0. 5 MW to 2 MW in vacant/unutilized/spare lands of

MSEDCL, Maharashtra under “Mukyamantri Sour Krushi Vahini Yoj ana. ” As on date, EESL has installed and commissioned decentralized solar power plant of 77 MWp cumulative capacity (0. 3MW to 10 MW range) in vacant/unutilized/spare land of MSEDCL. It is also in the process of planning and execution of approx. 1, 000 MW Solar Proj ects in the states of Maharashtra Andhra Pradesh, Meghalaya, Jharkhand Tamil Nadu, and Chhattisgarh.

Thus, decentralised solar is indeed a viable avenue to power India’ s agriculture sector. Its two-pronged benefits to the farmers and the DISCOMs make it an attractive proposition. The reliable access to daytime electricity for the sector, along with the marked reduction in transmission costs and T&D losses for the DISCOM, present a compelling case for large scale proliferation of decentralised solar in India’ s hinterlands.

OF THE TARGETED 175GW OF RENEWABLE ENERGY CAPACITY BY 2022, 100GW IS PEGGED TO COME FROM JUST SOLAR PROJECTS."

PG 39

INSIGHTS

ETi-SOL 5.0 : IIOT SCADA Author: Ravish DN, Sr. VP -Solar Analytics, EnerMAN Technologies

THE

CURRENT

COVID-19

SITUATION

EXPOSED

OF

SCADA

AT

LOCAL PLANT

FROM

OF

THE

LIMITATIONS

SYSTEMS

LOCATIONS

IMPORTANCE

PANDEMIC

AND

DEPLOYED

THE

MONITORING

“ANYWHERE

AND

PLANTS

ANYTIME”.

The next generation IIOT SCADA ETi-SOL 5.0 released in June 2020

by EnerMAN technologies goes beyond just monitoring of Solar PV plants. The ETi-SOL 5.0 platform is purpose built to do “Not only Monitoring (NoMon)” but also transforming PV plant data into Knowledge so that all the stakeholders of PV plant (plant owner, O&M Manager, technician) benefit from it.

The Inverter dashboard displays hourly, daily, and monthly generation and insolation in a Graph. The users of SCADA can drill down from Plant->Block->InverterRoom->Inverter level to get the generation information. As part of EnerMAN Technology efforts to deliver Knowledge not just data, Inverter dashboard has a unique feature called “Dip Reason”. The Dip Reason window automatically displays if there is a dip in energy generation due to Grid Outage and/or Inverter faults. There is also a provision for technician to manually enter any other reason which is not automatically inferred by the SCADA system.

The SCB dashboard displays any underperforming strings so that the technician can take actions just by looking at color coded information.

The Weather Station dashboard display all the weather-related data of the plant in both graph and table view.

Here are some of the salient features of ETi-SOL 5.0 SCADA: THE THE

PORTFOLIO

PAGE:

This is the dashboard that can provide plant and portfolio level KPIs like Generation, PR, Plant Status etc. This data is very useful for the plant owner as well as O&M Manager to know how their plants are performing on a day. The SCADA transforms generation data into carbon footprint knowledge that the owner can take pride in how he is contributing to a healthier planet.

THE

PLANT

OVERVIEW

PAGE:

This dashboard (refer to figure 1) is designed after taking inputs from many customers with a combined portfolio of 900+ MW. The technician can get complete knowledge about how his plant is operating. Some of the performance metrics are generation, insolation, peak power, total power, PR, CUF, yield etc. Many of the components in this page are customizable to the specific needs of a customer. If a key performance indicator is outside the expected range, there is a provision for the technician to share the incident knowledge to the managers at HQ by adding Bulletin messages.

The Mapview page displays all Inverters and SCBs on a Google Map with exact geo coordinates of the plant and the color of Inverters and SCBs become red if there is a device fault.

SLD

ANALYTICS

PAGE:

The user can download pre-defined daily, monthly, and yearly reports by click of a button.

The user can pick and choose primary parameters across different devices and analyze trends and performances in a graph or table view.

In addition to primary data, the user can also analyze and download computed KPIs like PR, Yield, Insolation, and DGR (Daily Generation Reports).

THE

ALARM

PAGE:

No SCADA is complete without an Alert module. The ETi-SOL 5.0 works closely with datalogger ETi-Log to provide real-time, robust, and accurate alarms and events. It has two levels of Alarms detection logics, the primary logic deployed in the edge device (ETiLog) and the secondary logic deployed in the SCADA (ETi-SOL 5.0). This extra layer of alert logic ensures that the user will not miss an Alarm.

The alert module supports both E-mail as well as SMS notifications to users and has an inbuilt escalation matrix. The O&M manager and the plant owner will receive an email notification if there is an unresolved alert.

DIAGRAMS:

The SLD diagrams are very important for an electrical engineer or technician to do live monitoring and take quick action if a device turns red due to a fault. This page is custom built for each plant based on how the plant is designed by referring to its schematic diagrams.

The ETi-SOL 5.0 is an end-to-end solution completely in-house developed to deliver accurate and real-time operational analytics of PV plants to O&M team and plant owners at an exceptionally attractive price. The EnerMAN Technology takes pride in “Vocal” about “Local” transformation currently happening across India.

THE

To read more, please visit www.enerman.in

DEVICE

DASHBOARDS:

All maj or devices like Inverter, SCB, Weather Station of a plant have their own dashboards and can be accessed from this page.

| JULY ISSUE 2020

PG 40

GEO-TAGGING

ETI-SOL

5.0:

DASH

BOARDS

PLANT

OVERVIEW

ROBUST

ALERT

MECHANISM

COMPANY FEATURE

GALLIUM-DOPED MONOCRYSTALLINE SILICON

offer the best quality modules to its customers. LID is generally considered as caused by boron-oxygen complex formed under light illumination, which reduces solar cell efficiency and power. To mitigate LID, we can either reduce oxygen concentration in wafer or replace Boron (B) with other dopants, such as Gallium (Ga). Research carried out j ointly by ISFH and LONGi has demonstrated Ga-doping and low oxygen wafer are effective, as demonstrated in figure 1.

Figure 1: Impact of Ga-doping and low oxygen on cell efficiency

With process optimization at ingot pulling and cell manufacturing, solar cells made with Ga doped wafers demonstrated efficiency improvement of 0. 06-0. 12% (abs. ) comparing to B doped wafers.

-BEST SOLUTION FOR LeTID & LID IN PERC CELLS THE NEXT BIG THING IN THE PV INDUSTRY?

In the last few years, another solar cell/module efficiency degradation phenomenon has caught everyone’ s attention, light and elevated temperature induced degradation, aka LeTID. LeTID is believed to be caused by interaction between metal impurity and hydrogen in wafers.

With Ga doped wafers, it is easier to control LeTID on solar cells, as there is no need to introduce excessive hydrogen in cell processing to mitigate LID as required for B doped wafers.

Through thorough research and testing, LONGi’ s technology experts concluded that LID and LeTID problems could be effectively solved by using gallium-doped monocrystalline silicon wafers in combination with cell process control, without the need for regeneration (light inj ection or electrical inj ection) treatment.

Compared with boron-doped silicon wafer, gallium-doped silicon wafer can improve the efficiency of PERC cells to some extent.

There is no boron-oxygen complex in gallium-doped PERC cells, so there is not the usual phenomenon of boron-oxygen LID. In a recent white paper titled “Gallium-doped monocrystalline silicon fully solves the problem of a PERC module’ s LID”, released by LONGi, the PV technology provider has summarized its findings on the subj ect, supported by related studies. Research strongly indicates that application of gallium-doped silicon wafers can effectively mitigate the initial LID from which cells using borondoped p-type silicon wafers have long suffered.

KEY FEATURES OF LONGI’S TEST

Solar has become the lowest cost electricity source in more and more locations globally. According to the latest report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) generated by large scale solar plants is around $0. 068 per kWh, compared to $0. 378 per kWh ten years ago. Between 2018 and 2019 alone, the price dropped by 13. 1 percent. This has been made possible due to the emergence of high efficiency, low cost technologies such as PERC, PERT and bifacial modules. Of these, PERC is a mature technology with a relatively simple process and therefore benefits from low cost of ownership. With PERC technology, a record cell efficiency of 24. 06 percent was reached by LONGi (January 2019). While record efficiencies are good, what counts more are conversion efficiency averages in volume production and efficiency stability over time. Technology experts have often pointed out the challenge that PERC technology faces in early days with regard to the potential degradation effects. LONGi understood the challenge early on and started research and testing to address the issue of Light Induced Degradation (LID) in PERC cells and modules quite early on in order to prevent degradation issues and

| JULY ISSUE 2020

LONGi team conducted a LID Test of Gallium-doped and Borondoped PERC cells. The test used LONGi’ s bifacial PERC cells (which had the cell efficiency of about 22. 7 per cent). Following is part of the test scheme including the test item, and type and quantity of cells: 1sun, 75°C – 7 boron-doped cells; 10 gallium-doped cells ×10suns, >100°C – 5 gallium-doped cells TEST RESULTS

1sun, 75°C: In order to fully reflect the LeTID, LONGi’ s mass produced cell adopted a test temperature of 75°C. Figure 2 shows the 264h test results at 1sun, 75°C. The boron-doped cell degrades to a maximum of 2. 3 per cent at 8 hours and then recovers to a stable value of 1. 3 per cent at 96 hours. The degradation value of gallium-doped cells is basically stable at 96 hours, which is 1. 2 per cent, and then slowly degraded to 1. 3 per cent (216 hours) and then recovered slightly.

PG 42

Figure 2:

×10suns, >100°C: The LeTID process can be accelerated by adopting ×10suns, >100°C. The test results of gallium-doped PERC cells under this method are shown in Figure 3. Using this test method, the gallium-doped cell also experienced a process of first degrading and then returning to stability. The degradation reached the maximum value of 1. 05 per cent at 5 minute and began to stabilize at a fairly low level of 0. 3 per cent at 90 minutes.

Figure 3: Accelerated LID Test Results of Gallium-doped Bifacial PERC Cells

It can be seen that the minority carrier lifetime of gallium-doped silicon wafers basically maintains a constant value of about 300 μ s after 104s light exposure, while those of boron-doped and indiumdoped silicon wafers degrade continuously and greatly. Therefore, under low-temperature light conditions, the gallium-doped silicon wafer is relatively stable and basically has no degradation.

However, in the case of actual outdoor exposure, the working temperature of the cell will exceed 60°C, and the gallium-doped cell will also have a certain degree of LeTID under the action of temperature. Her research clearly supplements LONGi’ s test results of the LID of gallium-doped PERC cells and regenerated boron-doped PERC cells at different temperatures.

Another related research has been made by Nicholas Grant and John Murphy from the University of Warwick who recently studied the viability of indium doping and found that its relatively deep acceptor level limits its potential. “Gallium doped silicon has demonstrated very stable and high lifetimes when subj ect to extended illumination. There have also not been any known detrimental recombination active defects, ” said Grant in a recent interaction with a leading solar industry j ournal. The application of gallium-doped silicon wafers can effectively mitigate the initial LID from which cells using boron-doped p-type silicon wafers have long suffered. Hence, gallium-doped silicon does not require the additional stabilization steps used to mitigate degradation, unlike the boron-doped status quo. The average efficiency of gallium-doped cells is 0. 09% higher than that of boron-doped cells.

“My team performed stabilization testing and no significant degradation of the PERC solar cells utilizing gallium-doped silicon substrate was observed, ” he said. “In contrast, we did observe significant degradation for an equivalent PERC solar cell with a boron-doped silicon substrate under the same experimental conditions. ”

THE WAY FORWARD RELATED STUDIES ALSO SUPPORT LONGI’S TEST RESULTS Related studies also support LONGi’ s test resultsTine U. Naerland from Azizona State University (along with other researchers) studied the minority carrier lifetime degradation of indium-doped, gallium-doped and boron-doped silicon wafers without impurities at room temperature 25°C, as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4: Minority Carrier Lifetime Degradation of Indium-doped, Galliumdoped and Boron-doped Silicon Wafers at Low-Temperature (25°C) Light Conditions

LONGi’ s testing of gallium-doped PERC cells at different temperatures clearly reflects that compared with boron-doped cells, gallium-doped cells show significantly lower degradation and is supported by credible and detailed literature. This further supports the conclusion in one of its previous white papers that the use of gallium-doped silicon wafers can solve the LID problem of PERC technology.

Due to its established potential benefits, LONGi has increased its efforts towards the production of gallium-doped silicon wafers.

Over the past six months, we have acquired licenses from ShinEtsu Chemical to manufacture gallium-based technologies. ShinEtsu is considered a pioneer of gallium-doped silicon growth.

Technical team at LONGi has been able to solve the problem of high cost of gallium-doped silicon through in-house technological innovation. Significant improvement on productivity and performance on Ga doping process has enabled LONGi to deliver Ga doped wafers at similar price as B doped wafers.

Going forward, LONGi’ s R&D team aims to continue studying the characteristics of gallium-doped silicon in order to obtain a reasonable resistivity range and higher doping accuracy to improve the gallium-doping process, from both a cost and quality standpoint. We believe that with the reduction in degradation, decrease in cost and increase in reliability, gallium doped silicon solar modules will be more cost-effective in the future practical application and will bring better value to our customers

Author:

By Dr Fang Hongbin, Product Director, LONGi Solar

| JULY ISSUE 2020

PG 43

PRODUCT FEATURE

SOLIS UNVEILED THE SOLIS UTILITY 1500V 255KW INVERTER IN INDIA

2020 is the year when the photovoltaic industry moves from subsidy to parity, and also the year of great technological change!

Since the beginning of the year, at least 7 companies have released new PV modules, with the power moving from 500W to 600W+!

Trend 1: High DC/AC ratio becomes the mainstream Trend 2: The adaptation of Bi-facial modules usage exceeds more than 50% globally Trend 3: High watt peak power PV modules are widely used.

At the same time the renewable industry in India is witnessing aggressive bidding, so the current trends and requirement for higher capacity PV modules and advanced technology string inverters to maximize plant generation and achieve faster return on investments (ROI) is likely to increase at pace.

The new technologies adaptation tends to be either in PV modules or solar inverters, which help PV plants to achieve better results and have many other advantages in terms of ease of design, proj ect installation, and ease of operation and maintenance which is also an added advantage with string inverter technologies.

The advancement of PV module technology further promotes the transformation of system design and inverter technology and realizes the reduction of LCOE. In order to promote the reduction of LCOE, PV power plant design presents three obvious new trends:

| JULY ISSUE 2020

It is exciting to see that new technologies promote the cost reduction and efficiency increase of the photovoltaic industry, but at the same time, there are other numerous challenges and questions or problems which proj ect developers or IPP companies need to deal with. Taking into consideration all these requirements and understanding the market demand, Ginlong technologies has designed and developed an inverter for PV power plants; Solis-255K-EHV (“Solis 255K”) ultra-high-power inverter.

THE NEW TECHNOLOGIES ADAPTATION TENDS TO BE EITHER IN PV MODULES OR SOLAR INVERTERS, WHICH HELP PV PLANTS TO ACHIEVE BETTER RESULTS AND HAVE MANY OTHER ADVANTAGES IN TERMS OF EASE OF DESIGN, PROJECT INSTALLATION, AND EASE OF OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE WHICH IS ALSO AN ADDED ADVANTAGE WITH STRING INVERTER TECHNOLOGIES.

PG 44

1

53 MPPTS DESIGN PER MW SUPPORTS 200% DC/AC RATIO

“High DC/AC ratio “can further improve the power curve to optimize the comprehensive income of the PV plant. Some inverters cannot achieve high DC/AC ratio due to the limitation of inputs. Solis 255K, with rated power up to 255kW, 12 MPPTs and 24 string inputs and 53 MPPTs design per MW meets the requirements of large-scale power plants and overall efficiency breaks through 99%. For the same 6. 3MW block design, Solis 255K inverter solution can reduce LCOE by more than 3. 5%.

At present, the DC input capacity of mainstream string inverters in the market is about 12-13A, which can no longer meet the requirements of high-power Bi-facial modules. Aiming at the trend of high-power Bi-facial modules, Solis 255K upgrades and improves the hardware and software. Solis 255K DC input current and short-circuit current of each string can reach up to 15A and 25A, which perfectly adapts to high-power Bi-facial modules.

*the above table is based on Chinese PV module manufacture data base. *the above table is based on Chinese PV module manufacture data base.

2

SUPPORTS 25A SHORT-CIRCUIT CURRENT WHICH ALLOWS COMPATIBILITY WITH BI-FACIAL MODULES

In addition to the high DC/AC ratio, high-power, Bi-facial modules can also effectively reduce the LCOE, so are becoming much more popular and widely used.

India introduced a solar power plant policy 10~12 years ago, and now more than 1 decade on, India’ solar PV industry has grown rapidly and has developed several solar parks, and large rooftop proj ects. The approx. capacity would be 38GW+, GOI has setted the target of 100GW by 2022, and also promoting the “make in India” concept, due to which we have seen great increases in local manufacturing facilities for producing finished PV modules in India. Few company’ s have PV cell production facilities in India, and 70% of PV modules are imported from overseas to achieve the annual targets.

Compared with traditional PV modules, the short circuit current and Nominal current of the new large silicon wafer modules can be improved by more than 35%! For Bi-facial modules, the power gain on the back side mainly comes from the current increase, by another 10% or so, with the highest close to 15Amp!

3

ADAPTION OF HIGH POWER BI-FACIAL MODULES, LOWER LCOE

Solis 255K is the highest power string inverter available today, which perfectly matches with the high-power modules to help the system owner achieve a lower LCOE. Compared with low-power modules, high-power modules can effectively reduce the cost of DC cables, inverter foundation, land and labor. "255kW inverter + high power modules" VS "low power inverter + low power modules", Cost savings on the AC side can result in approximately 7% reduction in the LCOE.

4

EXPANDABLE STORAGE INTERFACE

Solis 255K has an expandable storage interface to accommodate peak saving and provide electricity to support loads and to reduce the overall power supply cost. Energy storage terminals are integrated, which can support up to 125kW charge and discharge power. This inverter facilitates the expansion of energy storage at a later stage, without the need to change any existing plant design. It can easily solve the requirement whether the power plant needs energy storage now or in future. Solis 255K has been designed to deal with current market demand and it can easily adapt to become a storage inverter if, in future, storage is required. The system can transform into an energy storage plant.

5

SOLIS 255K ULTRA HIGHPOWER INVERTER IS LAUNCHED

To match with the new trend of market technology changes, Solis 255K, with more professional technical methods adopted and to provide a one-stop solution for all developers and IPP companies! Solis 255K has been designed and is capable enough to work with high DC/AC ratio and the high current carrying capabilities which are maj or concerns when using high-power bi-facial modules.

Focus on quality and continuous innovation is the core strength of Ginlong Technologies. The design and manufacturing of Solis 255K will lead to “Green Energy Revolution!!!”

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COMPANY FEATURE

INDIA’S LEADING PV JUNCTION BOX MANUFACTURER With obj ective to deliver indigenously well designed and developed reliable products to improve system efficiencies, Started operation in the year 2017 at state-of-the-art production facilities of 2 GW in Bangalore, India. Our robust in-house processes & systems, high grade testing equipment and stringent quality checks have created enormous confidence among our clients. We are associated with more than 100 module manufacturers in India and expanding our footprint globally with catering demands of overseas customers.

50% compared to conventional solar panels which need higher rating Junction box. Technological Innovation is core competency of DhaSh. To fill this technical gap, We developed 15A/20A/24A rated Junction box with excellent thermal conductivity which can fulfil requirements of such high power module as well as 12V (72 cell) Solar panels.

MODERN, FUTURE-READY SOLUTIONS AND CONTINUAL PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT MAKE DHASH THE PREFERRED CHOICE FOR DISCERNING BUYERS. VISION

Manufacture and supply energy efficient high-quality solar products that exceeds the expectations of our esteemed customers MISSION

We intend to build long term association with our customers and clients to provide exceptional customer services by pursuing business through innovation and adhered technology and commit to create a good life for future generation.

STATE OF THE ART FACILITY

Owning to the state-of -the-art manufacturing facility of 2 GW, DhaSh is the largest PV Junction box manufacturer in India. Our manufacturing facility equipped with globally benchmarked machineries which known for energy efficient solutions. We, at DhaSh, follow strict production guidelines of Quality standards and IEC standards for Products with successful third-party assessments.

By procuring reliable quality raw material and conducting stringent quality checks in our state-of -the-art In-house testing laboratory, we ensure excellence across our products and services.

Looking ahead, the most important technological shift in the market relates to Bifacial Solar modules. As the name suggests, these modules efficiently absorb energy from both the front as well as the rear face. DhaSh Split Junction box is most suitable for such technological advanced panels. Its ultra-thin design and compact appearance occupies less space and casts less shade on the back solar cells which gives more output from solar panel.

RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENTS

Innovation, Quality & Reliability is at heart of component design at DhaSh. We invest in significant research, development, and engineering to meet the rigorous demands of our customers’ increasingly complex technology. Our expertise in materials science research, advanced design methods, and global manufacturing capability allow us to create the rugged and reliable solutions for Solar PV Industry.

DhaSh offers a comprehensive portfolio of PV Junction box with multiple variants such as Pre-Potted, Non-Potted, Fully Potted & Split Junction box with 1500 VDC & 1000 VDC Rated Voltage conforms to IEC 62790.

TECHNICAL ADVANCEMENTS

The emergence of new cell architectures has enabled higher efficiency levels. A maj or driver of this shift has been the emergence of the PERC cells and their compatibility with other emerging innovations, such as half –cut cells which made it possible to design solar panel with power rating as high as 500 watt. Rated current of such high power module is increased by around

| JULY ISSUE 2020

WE WELCOME THE RECENT ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE INDIAN GOVERNMENT TO BE SELF-RELIANT BY DEVELOPING SOURCES LOCALLY AND REDUCE DEPENDENCY ON IMPORTS. SIMULTANEOUSLY WE ARE EXPANDING OUR MANUFACTURING CAPACITY TO 5 GW BY END OF 2020 TO SUPPORT INDIAN MODULE MANUFACTURING CAPACITY AT MAXIMUM.

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COMPANY FEATURE

RAJASTHAN'S SUCCESS SPEAKS FOR

BULL POWER It is said that if a person is determined then nothing is impossible. One such name in Raj asthan' s Solar EPC is Bull Power Solar. Bull Power, with its vision and mission, made a mark in Raj asthan' s solar business, it is no longer an introduction. Starting from a small district like Bikaner, Bull Power is today one of the leading solar companies in entire Raj asthan. The company started in the year 2018.

The company' s goal was to take the current level of the solar power plant to a higher level, and the general public should reach its finer points.

Bull Power was founded by Sharad Acharya, who is the founder of his business from a small shop, Sharad Acharya is a known name of Raj asthan Solar Industry today. Bull Power set up more than 250 solar power plants in its city of Bikaner in a short span of time and today company having 30% market share in Bikaner only.

Sharad Acharya explains that he faced a lot of difficulty in the initial phase, it was very difficult to establish his own identity among the already established companies in the market, but the quality and great services was a weapon through which Bull Power maintains its unique identity.

Managing Director of the company Dinesh Bishnoi told about the future proj ect of the company, he said that the hard work never goes in vain and the same happened with Bull Power, Raj asthan' s industrialists understood the benefits of solar energy and installed solar power plants, meanwhile Bull Power got a large market share due to its quality and services. The company currently has pre-orders for industrial solar power plants above 5MW, and at the same time the company is also in a very strong position in Le Solar Park to be set up under the KUSUM scheme in Raj asthan.

VISION & MISSION Our vision is to install systems to the highest engineering standards while making the switch simple for our customers. we’ ve revolutionized the way energy is delivered by giving customers a cleaner, more affordable alternative to their monthly utility bill.

Our mission to be a leading Renewable Energy enterprise, providing superior quality products and services at competitive prices.

In this j ourney, we consider Jakson Solar to be an important contributor, who always helped us a lot with quality products and technically, as a result of which Jackson' s market share also increased compared to other solar companies in Bikaner. Due to the excellent functioning of Bull Power, Jackson Company also made Bull Power a representative of its entire Raj asthan.

This gave the company a new energy and today in Raj asthan, Bull Power Energy no need for any Introduction.

During the year 2019-20, there was a 10 times j ump in the company business, during which the company was awarded a lot of awards at the state and inter-state level. October 2019 , Company new corporate office was inaugurated by Energy Minister of Raj athan Dr. B. D. Kalla. In j ust 6 months of the start of corporate office, the company focused its attention on the increasing power consumption of industries, and made them aware of solar power plants in collaboration with different industries leaders.

| JULY ISSUE 2020

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COMPANY FEATURE

Y YO OR RK KS SH H II R R EE EUROPE'S STORAGE

LARGEST

SOLAR-PLUS-

PROJECT

PROJECT OVERVIEW

The UK 34. 7MW PV plant plus 27. 5MW/30MWh large-scale energy storage project was successfully put into operation in winter 2019. It marks the largest unsubsidized solar-plus-storage project in Europe as well as the first unsubsidized utility-scale project in the UK. The project is expected to generate enough solar energy for 10, 000 households per year. The completion of the project not only opened a new era of unsubsidized and sustainable development of renewable energy in the UK and even Europe, but also provided an application demonstration of the era of global parity and grid connection. Recently, in the UK and even Europe, the gradual cancellation of subsidies for renewable energy has become a new normal.

The profits of PV power plants have been greatly reduced. The integration of PV and energy storage can improve the system efficiency and the power generating capability of PV plants. Solar-plus-storage solution is becoming the first choice for further unsubsidized projects.

“PV + ESS” FOR HIGHER YIELDS

Sungrow supplied the total system solution consisting of 1500Vdc PV turnkey station SG3125HV-MV and all-in-one “2. 5 MW-1 Hour” ESS (energy storage system) solution for the project, which can keep a reasonable energy transmission amongst the grid, PV, energy storage and project users, maximizing ROI of the plant.

Given the changeable weather and poor sunshine conditions, the UK poses high requirements for the high DC/AC ratio. Sungrow provides 1500V turnkey medium-voltage inverter solution with an optimal DC/AC ratio of 1. 4. Compatible with intelligent tracking systems and bi-facial modules, the solution significantly boosts yields by more than 20%.

Containerized in a 20-ft container together with the monitoring system and auxiliary power supply, Sungrow’ s new high performing PCS (power conversion system) SC2500HV-MV lies in its ability to deliver high efficiency and compatible with high voltage battery system to improve yields and reduces O&M costs. Furthermore, the reliable lithium-ion battery system from Sungrow Samsung SDI is housed in a 40-ft container.

It proves that standard container design is profitable to transportation and

| JULY ISSUE 2020

UNSUBSIDIZED

enables less footprints. It can shorten the commissioning duration and generate more as early as possible.

SYSTEM INTEGRATION CONTRIBUTES TO MORE SAFETY

The safety of the battery is one of the most important factors to the stable operation of the energy storage system. Sungrow ESS adopts the fourlevel management system, including local controller management, battery system management, battery rack management and battery module management, in a bid to prevent situations like overcharge, overdischarge, over-current, over-voltage and under-voltage.

Equipped with intelligent HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) and automatic FFS (fire fighting system), along with the high-efficiency heat dissipation and thermal insulation design of the battery; the ESS solution can ensure that the battery won’ t experience extreme temperatures in harsh conditions, guaranteeing a safe and reliable system with maximum efficiency.

Integrated the monitoring system which secures the data from thousands of sampling points, the ESS solution can show the real-time operation status of the battery and prevent it from any potential hazards.

Notably, reserving 3 meters’ fire prevention space between containers is not only convenient for installation and maintenance, but conducive to the safety of the system.

ENDORSEMENT FROM THE CUSTOMER

The CEO of the project investor company highly praised this cooperation with Sungrow: "We attach great importance to this unsubsidized project and ensure that the power plant revenue is our most concern. During the cooperation, the Sungrow team gave us very professional technical support and services, the flexibility and professionalism of the entire program provide a strong guarantee for the smooth progress of the project. Based on this pleasant cooperation, we look forward to collaborating on more projects in the future. "

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LAUNCHING TWO NEW EXCLUSIVE PUBLICATIONS for ASEAN & Middle East Solar Industry

EMPOWERING HIGH GROWTH ASIAN MARKETS

For Advertising Opportunities, Contact: Smriti Singh, M: +91 7718877514, e: smriti@firstviewgroup.com For Editorial Participation, Contact: Sangita Shetty, M: +91 88505 69133, e: editorial@firstviewgroup.com

TENDER T R A C K E R

MNRE ONCE AGAIN EXTENDS DEADLINES FOR ONE SUN ONE WORLD ONE GRID

SECI TENDERS FOR 1070 MW SOLAR POWER PROJECTS I N RAJASTHAN The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has recently issued RfS for 1070 MW Grid-connected Solar PV Power Projects which will be held under Tariff-based competitive bidding. The location of this project is Rajasthan.Online pre bid meeting is scheduled for 31st July, 2020 at 2:00 PM. The last date for online bid submission is 31st August, 2020 at 6:00 PM.The scope of work for successful bidders include the design, engineering, supply, construction, installation, testing, and commissioning of the projects .The bidders are also required to provide Land and Connectivity.

VSCL TENDERS FOR 1.2 MW OF SOLAR PLANT I N TAMI L NADU Vellore Smart City Limited (VSCL) recently floated a tender for a 1.2 MW of ground-mounted solar power plant. The location of this tender is ABD Area of Vellore City Municipal Corporation at STP area near Palar river in Tamilnadu.The last date for the submission of bids is 17th August 2020.

The total tender Value of this project is Rs. 6,28,00,000. Scope of work for successful bidders include Design,Engineering, Procurement & Supply, Packing & Forwarding, Transportation, Unloading, Storage at site, Site development, Construction, Erection & Installation of equipment, Testing & commissioning of system along with comprehensive O&M for 10 years.

MAHAGENCO PLANS TO I NSTALL 602 MW SOLAR POWER PLANTS State-owned Maharashtra State Power Generation Company (Mahagenco) will set up solar power plants with the total capacity of 602 MW at various locations, state energy minister Nitin Raut said on Thursday. These projects will be developed under an engineering, procurement and commissioning (EPC) contract in three stages on lands owned by Mahagenco, the minister said in a statement. In the first stage, solar plants with a total capacity of 187 MW will be set up at Kaudgaon, Latur, on thermal power station land at Bhusawal, Koradi, Parli and Nashik and Sakri, he said.Solar plants with a total capacity of 390 MW will be developed at Washim, Yavatmal and Chandrapur districts in the second stage, while in the third stage, a 25 MW-capacity plant will be set up at Sakri again. In accordance with the Ultra Mega Renewable Energy Solar Park Scheme, solar parks with a total capacity of 2,500 MW will be developed in Maharashtra through a joint venture company (JVC) of NTPC and Mahagenco, the minister said.

SOLAR

| JULY ISSUE 2020

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has recently issued a notice in regards to the second extension of timelines of each activity of the RFP for Developing a Long Term Vision, Implementation Plan, Road Map and Institutional Framework for implementing One Sun One World One Grid. Date of response to vendors’ requests for clarification has been extended from 13th July, 2020 to 27th July, 2020.The date of deadline for submission of proposals Online and hardcopy has been extended from 22nd July and 24th July, 2020 to 10th August and 12 August, 2020 respectively.Evaluation of the proposals & approval remains the same that is for a period of 4 weeks (estimated). The scope of work is planned to be undertaken in a phased approach consisting of three phases viz. assessment, design & pilot followed by a full-scale roll-out.

NTPC TENDERS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF 1100 KWP GRID CONNECTED SOLAR PROJECT IN JHARKHAND National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) invites online bids from eligible bidders for development of 1100 Kwp grid connected Solar Pv Project. The location of the project is at North Karanpura, Jharkhand. The last date for online bid submission is 29.07.2020 at 16:00 Hrs.The techno-commercial bids will be opened on 30.07.2020 at 16:00 Hrs.The date of Price Bid will be intimated later.The last date for seeking clarification for this bid is 23.07.2020 at 16:00 Hrs. Scope of work for successful bidder is designing, engineering, supply, transportation, erection, testing, commissioning of the solar project along with O&M for one year.

INDIA’S SCCL PLANS TO INSTALL 500 MW FLOATING SOLAR POWER PLANTS IN TELANGANA Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) is planning to set up floating solar power plants with combined capacity of 500 mw on water bodies in Telangana. The proposed plants would be set up along with the Telangana State Renewable Energy Development Corporation, an official release from the state-owned coal miner SCCL said . The state renewable energy corporation has taken up the feasibility study for erecting floating solar power plants on large water bodies and the department officials gave a power-point presentation to SCCL CMDN Sridhar, according to the release. “With Singareni(SCCL) ready to undertake the construction of floating solar power plants, discussions were on the subject of whether everything should be at one place or in 5 phases of 100 mega watts each,” the SCCL said.

NHPC ISSUES LOA FOR 400 MW ISTSCONNECTED SOLAR PROJECTS National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) has recently announced that it has issued Letter of Award (LOA) to Solar Power Developer for interstate transmission system (ISTS) grid connected photovoltaic projects for balance 400 MW installed capacity out of 2000 MW. Out of 2000 MW. NHPC said that as part of the LOA it shall purchase the power generated from the proposed ISTS- Connected Solar PV Power Project at tariffs of Rs 2.55/- and 2.56/-per unit. NHPC stated it had already issued LOA for 1600 MW during June 2020 and had successfully conducted the e-reverse Auction for 2000 MW ISTS Grid Connected Solar PV Project to be set up anywhere in India.

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EMOBILITY + | JAN FEB ISSUE 2020

w w w . s o l a r q u a r t e r . c o m

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